On This Side
by grisabele
Summary: My name is Amara Dolan. When I was fifteen years old, I had a strange and terrible dream. At least, I hope it was a dream, because the possibility of what happened being real is too frightening for me to handle right now...
1. Prologue

**On This Side**

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who's stuck with me and FWV for all this time! Here's the prologue of the (maybe?) long-awaited sequel to _Flirting with Vampires is Dangerous to Your Health _(now known as _Transversed_). If you have not read that story, I encourage you to do so! I've tried to write this so that you don't really need to have read _Transversed_ to understand this fic, but you should still check it out! I'd like to warn you that this fic contains things for a more mature audience, including (implied) sex, language, use of alcohol, and use of drugs. Oh, and violence but since this is a LoK fic I figured that'd be a given. That being said, enjoy!**

_My name is Amara Dolan. I'm 20 years old, and I'm studying at a small university, majoring in...well, really, I don't know what my major will be. I haven't quite decided yet. _

_When I was fifteen years old, I had a strange and terrible dream. At least, I hope it was a dream, because the possibility of what happened being real is too frightening for me to handle right now..._

"Amara! Hey! Amara!"

Someone was poking me in the head with their foot, and I did not appreciate it. I was aware that I was face down on a carpeted floor.

"Dude, get up. We need to get this shit cleaned up and we need to get showered before the landlord gets here! You do know he's coming to fix that leak in the kitchen sink, right?" I groaned, opened my eyes, and looked up. My heavily tattooed, heavily pierced, purple-dreadlock'd roommate Rupali stood above me with her arms crossed. Her eye makeup was smeared all over her face, like she fell asleep in it. Really, all of her makeup looked that way. I slowly stood up and looked around. Beer bottles, spilled food, and little puddles of God-knows-what littered the floor. There were a couple of ping-pong balls close to where I had been laying.

_Jesus Christ, did I pass out in that? Again?_

"You really need to not play beer pong if you're going to continue to not make it to the bed," Rupali said, as though she'd read my mind, "Seriously. You can't hold your booze."

"Some of us aren't career alcoholics," I snapped.

"Whatever. Get a garbage bag and help me deal with this shit."

I sighed, stumbled over to the kitchen, and pulled a garbage bag out from under the sink. I felt terrible. I decided to swear off drinking, if only for the next 48 hours. After I got the bag, I walked back to the main room and started shoving beer bottles into the bag. Rupali and I shared a three bedroom apartment with a girl who happened to be a good friend of mine...which reminded me.

"Where's Ice?"

"I dunno. You know how she is. Sleeping late. She'll probably use that anemia excuse again."

Ice had mysteriously developed anemia five years ago. After that crazy dream...

_Five years ago I dreamed we got sucked into her Soul Raider or whatever it's called game._

_I dreamed that I met this vampire who I thought loved me...but he used and betrayed me._

_I dreamed that I saw Ice die._

_And then, just before I woke up, Ice was there. She'd been made into a vampire._

_But that was just a dream. Vampires aren't real. Ice just somehow magically acquired anemia._

_Yeah. I'll keep telling myself that._

"Amara. Quit spacin' out. I can't get this place landlord-ready all alone."

"Oh. Yeah." I absent-mindedly resumed cleaning. "How many people were over here last night, anyway?"

"Nine or ten. Maybe twenty. After the first ten people showed up I kind of lost track of who all was here," Rupali said, pushing her dreads out of her face. "I think your boyfriend was here. I don't think he stayed after the first couple of rounds of beer pong."

"Thank God. I would have hated for him to see me like that..."

"Your ex from high school was here too. The hell's his name? Sayer or something? He put you to bed last night but you wanted just one more round of beer pong, so you came back out, and then you passed out on the floor and we just left you. You know, to teach you a lesson." Rupali laughed, exposing straight, white teeth.

_Shit. _

"How is it that you can't remember if my boyfriend was here but you can remember if my old boyfriend was here?"

"Easy," Rupali said with a shrug, "Your ex is cuter."

I sighed, set my now-full trash bag down in the kitchen so I could take it out later, and started cleaning the kitchen counters in hopes of avoiding any more discussion on the subject.

My old boyfriend was named Sawyer Hayes. He, Ice, and I practically grew up together, and we dated off-and-on all through high school until we figured out that it was better for us to not date. He and Ice are the only ones who know about my "psychic ability"...if you can count knowing how to read people and sometimes Tarot cards as being psychic. He _is _cute, I guess. If you're into gothy-emo musician types with long, black hair and blue eyes. I liked my current boyfriend better, though.

My current boyfriend was a super relaxed psychology major named Alex Nolan. He has short brown hair and brown eyes and he's as far away from being into the music scene as you can possibly be. He's also a very sharp-dressed man.

After a little while, I'd gotten the kitchen squeaky-clean, the trash taken out, and the dishes done. I decided to take a quick shower, and call Alex. There was plenty of time before the landlord showed up.

* * *

Alex came over late that night. I was in my room, reorganizing my jewelry box when I heard his voice on the other side of the door.

"Hey, Amara, can I come in?"

"Oh, yeah. Come on in," I said, standing up to greet him. I set the jewelry box on the edge of my dresser and hurried to the doorway. Alex pulled me into his arms and gently kissed me. The gentle kiss quickly turned passionate, and before I knew it I'd backed into my dresser and knocked my jewelry box over.

"Oh, damn." I pulled away from Alex and quickly started picking up my jewelry. Alex knelt down beside me.

"Let me help you," he said, "I'm so sorry! And after you just got your room straightened out..."

"It's not your fault." I said, absent-mindedly reaching for a necklace.

Alex reached for the same necklace and our fingers touched. I pulled my hand away. "After you, sir."

Alex laughed and picked up the necklace. It was a round amethyst pendant, set in silver, on a thin silver chain. My breath caught in my throat. _It can't be..._

"This is a really pretty necklace, Amara. Where did you get it?"

"It doesn't matter," I said with a shrug.

Alex chuckled. "So...Sawyer gave it to you?"

I smiled and chose not to answer him.

"So. Sawyer. Haha. I'm not jealous. Here," he said, handing me the necklace. I took it, and as soon as I touched the cool metal I was reminded of how I got it.

"_If you need me, ever, hold that in your hand and will me to come to you..."_

In my mind's eye I saw the vampire who gave me the necklace. He was sitting in his throne room, idly staring off into space, and then he stared _right at me._

"_Amara...?" _

I shuddered and practically threw the necklace onto my dresser. Alex was resting a hand on your shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I just got one of those weird chills, you know?"

"Well," Alex said with a wicked, flirtatious grin. He rested a hand on my shoulder, and let it slide down to the small of my back. "I happen to know the best cure for the chills..."

"Oh, do you now?"

"If you'll just go over to the bed we can start treatment," he purred. He gently kissed me, and that was really all the persuading he needed to do.

* * *

Afterward, I snuggled up close to Alex. "You need to come over more."

"You know where my dorm room is," Alex said.

"Yeah, but you have a freaky _World of Warcraft _nerd for a roommate. That kid never leaves the room."

Alex laughed. "That's not true. He leaves...when his mom can come pick him up."

Both of us burst into laughter. I gently kissed Alex. "Well, come over more, and you won't have to deal with him."

"We'll talk about this more in the morning."

* * *

_Dumah woke with a start. He was in an unfamiliar place. Somehow, he was standing. He quickly looked around. The fact that it was dark didn't deter him, he could, after all, see perfectly well in the darkness. He was in a bedroom. There were two people fast asleep in the bed, and he smirked. They would be easy pickings. He crept toward the bed, when he noticed something laying on the chest of drawers. Curious, he approached the chest. There was a necklace laying on top of it. A very familiar necklace. Dumah slowly picked it up, feeling the slight weight of the amethyst pendant in his hands._

_"This pendant...I gave it to that girl..." he said softly. Now even more curious, he resumed walking toward the bed, with the necklace still in his hand. He saw a young woman and a young man fast asleep there. The man had short brown hair and was otherwise uninteresting to Dumah, as he was more interested in the young woman beside the man. She had long, blonde hair, but he couldn't see her face. She was turned away from him, and deep in sleep. Dumah gently took hold of her jaw with his free hand and with utmost care, he turned her face toward him. When he saw her face, he dropped the necklace._

**Amara! It can't be! That was five hundred years ago!**

_Amara stirred slightly and opened her eyes. _

_When she saw Dumah, she sat bolt upright, pulled the blankets over her bare chest, and screamed.  
_


	2. Chapter I

**Chapter I**

**_"Like waves, we all rise and fall away/our lives change"--Our Lives Change, by Tryad_**

Dumah stared at me. "Amara...then it is you." He reached for me and I shrank back.  
"Don't touch me!"  
At this point, Alex stirred and sat up.  
"Are you having a bad dream..." His voice trailed off as he looked up and saw Dumah towering over the bed. "Who the hell are you, Jack?"  
"You impudent whelp," Dumah snarled. He reached for Alex and I moved to place myself between them.  
"Leave us alone!" I cried. "Go away, go back where you came from!"

Dumah paid no mind. He easily reached over me and picked up Alex by the throat. "I will not be spoken to in such a manner, _human_!" he growled before throwing Alex into my closet door. Alex hit the door in an explosion of splinters and noise. At that, I stood up and wrapped the sheet around me like a toga. I hurried over to Alex's side. He was unconscious, bleeding and his throat was slightly bruised. _Should I call an ambulance? _He was breathing, at least.

"Amara...no, you can't be Amara. That was five hundred years ago."  
"What are you talking about," I said, "It was five years ago. Why am I even wasting time correcting you? You're not real. You don't exist! I'm going to wake up now."  
Dumah locked eyes with me. We stayed that way for several minutes, neither of us speaking.  
"I'm going to wake up now," I repeated, raising my eyes to the ceiling.  
"I'm afraid that this is no dream, Amara," Dumah said quietly. He moved closer to me, and knelt in front of me. He gently reached for my hair, and I recoiled.  
"Don't you fucking touch me!"  
"Such language," Dumah purred, "I thought you were better than that..."

There was a knock on the door just then.  
"Amara, are you okay in there?" It was Ice. She sounded concerned, and tired. The brief fight between Alex and Dumah must have woken her.  
"Ice, help!"  
"Be right there." In the silence that followed I heard Ice walk back to her room. I cursed. Ice never was one for help.  
Dumah's expression changed to one of complete confusion. "The other girl? She was murdered..."  
"She's very much alive," I snapped back.  
Alex groaned, and I looked down at him. He was still unconscious. He seemed to be bleeding more. I looked up at Dumah. "Excuse me. I need to call an ambulance." I was surprised to hear those words leave my lips with such calm. I slowly stood and headed for the door. The phone was in the living room, if I remembered correctly...

Dumah was faster than I was. He was almost as tall as the door, and when he put his arms out he could easily prevent my leaving.  
"I have a few questions for you."  
"Dumah, get out of my way! My...boy--my husband is hurt!" It was a lie, but I didn't think that Dumah would understand the relationship I had with Alex. "Please. There will be time for answers later."  
"So you have married now? I thought you had better taste than that. Or did your mother arrange that match? Perhaps he's wealthy?"  
"Why I'm with him is none of your concern," I snarled, "Get out of my way. Please."  
Just then, the wood splintered and a blade pierced through Dumah's shoulder. His violet eyes widened in shock and pain, and he pulled himself away from the door as the blade withdrew. Before he could act, the door opened, and Ice swung at him with a katana she'd bought at a pawn shop.

"Damn, I missed," she said matter-of-factly before glaring at Dumah. She hissed and lunged at him. He easily dodged her.  
"You're supposed to be dead," he growled as she swung at him again. Ice laughed.  
"I suppose I could say the very same thing about _you! _Or, rather, I guess I could argue that you should not exist on this plane at all..."She lunged again, cutting his shoulder. "Amara, I suggest you drag Alex out of here and call 911. It's about to get ugly."  
I nodded, dropped the sheet, grabbed Alex by the wrists, and dragged him out of my bedroom and into the kitchen. He was going to have a terrible rugburn, but that would be the least of his worries if I didn't call an ambulance soon. Ice shut the door. "All right, you undead varmint! Let's go!" After that, I heard the sound of fighting. I didn't know if Ice was a match for Dumah. She wasn't a vampire (was she?), and she had never before demonstrated any kind of proficiency with a blade.

I shivered. It was chilly, and I had only just remembered that Alex and I were naked as the day we were born. I hurried to the towel closet and pulled out two of the softest towels. I draped one over Alex and wrapped the other one around myself. Then I went into the living room and dialed 911.  
And waited.  
And waited.  
Finally, someone picked up.  
"This is 911. Please state your emergency." The operator had the voice of a 40-year chain smoker. She was flat and monotone.

I took a deep breath and tried to stay calm. "I'm living on 244 East Bent Street. Someone broke into my house and attacked me and my boyfriend while we were sleeping." I could hear crashes and clatters in my bedroom.I was pretty sure that nothing would be left intact.  
"I see. Could you, ah, please elaborate on your situation?"

Somehow, saying that a vampire from some video game magically appeared in my room, picked up my boyfriend, and threw him into my closet door wasn't going to be convincing.  
"Well, he came in in the dark and tried to...um, do things to me, but my boyfriend woke up and tried to stop him and he picked up my boyfriend by the throat and threw him against my closet door...my boyfriend is unconscious and bleeding!" I heard the sound of my door smashing open and someone tumbling out. _Oh damn._

_  
_"Ma'am, is your attacker still there?"  
"N-no! He's not. I drew a knife on him and he ran away!" I knew the operator could hear the sound of fighting in the background now. I suspected she could tell that I was lying.  
"Ma'am. It sounds like there's something going on in your house. Are you sure he's gone?"  
"That's a fight outside. Please, please just send an ambulance for my boyfriend!"  
"I'm sending a unit over right now. Do you want me to stay on the line with you?"

"No, that won't be necessary," I said just as Ice ran into the living room and jumped onto the couch. She proceeded to jump once and do a backflip, landing precariously on our three-legged kitchen table. I heard the operator's droning voice on the other end of the line as Dumah lumbered in.  
"Ma'am? Are you all right?"  
"I'm quite all right, thank you!" I said, "Thank you for your help!" I quickly hung up and ducked as Ice lunged at Dumah once again. She missed spectacularly and landed on her face in the kitchen. Dumah snarled and turned around. He appeared to be attempting to use some sort of magic, but it fizzled out and died, and the harder he tried, the less it seemed to work.

"What's going on here?"  
"You'll find," Ice said, slowly pulling herself into a standing position, "That your powers are much weaker here. It's just the way things are. You're at a disadvantage. Likewise, if I were to end up back in Nosgoth, I'd be so overwhelmed with my new abilities that I'd be at a disadvantage...on the bright side, you aren't as susceptible to the weaknesses you have in Nosgoth!"  
Dumah stared at Ice, too stunned to speak.  
"Look. How's about we just relax, maybe have a nice mug of tea. I mean, we'll have to hide you first because the police are coming and I don't feel like explaining you to them." Ice was talking like Dumah was _her _problem.  
"I just want some answers."  
"You'll get them."  
"I want answers from _Amara_," Dumah snarled.  
"You'll get them," Ice assured him. "But first, please accompany me into the laundry room. Dumah growled, looked at me, and grudgingly obeyed Ice.  
Just then, I heard the sirens and saw the familiar blue-and-cherry lights outside. I cautiously peeked through the curtains. Sure enough, there was a police car, an ambulance, _and _a fire truck outside. I watched them all start exit their vehicles. The cop was looking for signs of a fight, the fire fighters shrugged and sped off, and I had no idea what the ambulance guy was doing. I was about to open the door and call out to them when I heard the back door open. I wheeled around to find Rupali stumbling in. She stopped at the laundry room, opened the door, shrugged, closed it, and walked into the kitchen, where she saw Alex naked, bleeding, and unconscious, and then she walked over to me. Even at an arm's length, I could smell her. She smelled like a brewery.

"Man! What a rockin' party!" she crowed. She looked at the mezmerizing flash of the lights outside. "So, uh, I guessh I don't need to tell you about the copsh outside. I'm going to ashume you're the one who called them."  
"Yeah, some guy came in and beat up Alex."  
"Shcary. Hey, did you know that there's a vampire in the laundry room?" she slurred.  
"Uh, I--"  
"That's one thing I never did like about living in Butte Heights," she interrupted, "All the fucking vampiresh."


	3. Chapter II

**CHAPTER III**

Rupali locked herself in her room before the police came in. Alex went to the hospital without any further incident. In fact, he was already regaining consciousness by the time the ambulance showed up. The police came in, demanded a police report, seemed unsatisfied with my answer of "the guy broke in and trashed the house after he beat up my boyfriend", but didn't press me. After they left, Ice ushered Dumah out of the closet.

"Now. You're going to go out there and apologize to Amara," she said in a matronly tone. Dumah gave her a look that indicated how immensely displeased he was, but he obeyed her. _What did they talk about in there?_

"I apologize for injuring your...well. Sorry." Dumah mumbled. He didn't make eye contact. Ice seemed satisfied.

"Good. Now, you're not going to do it ever again, are you?" Her tone was still maternal, and almost condescending. Dumah glared at her.

"I'll make no such promises, wench."

"Good enough. Go back in the closet while Amara and I figure out what to do with you. We can't very well have you wandering around until you know what the rules for the vampires here are."

"There are rules for vampires here?" I was, justifiably, surprised. Vampires were personified elitism, weren't they? They didn't need rules, did they?

"Well, yes," Ice shrugged, "They can't very well go and make their existence known to the world, can they? Think of what would happen if they did."

She had a point. If the vampires were to reveal themselves, at best, no one would believe them, and at worst, there'd be a massive panic.

"Are you telling me I will have to live in secret?" Dumah said, amazed.

"You will if you value your freedom," Ice answered. "As I've mentioned, your powers are greatly weakened here. One false step could get you imprisoned..."

Dumah growled and sulked back into the laundry room, slamming the door on the way. Ice watched him, and then looked at me. "Um...your room's kinda...trashed. Sorry about that. I'll totally take care of it in the morning."

At this point, I didn't really care about my room being trashed. I was more interested in what Rupali said when she had come home. "Hey, uh, when Rupali came home, she said something about vampires. She said there were a lot of them here in Butte Heights."

"There are," Ice said matter-of-factly. My eyes widened, but I was determined not to lose my cool.

"And I suppose you're a vampire, and that the anemia thing is just an excuse for when you haven't had a chance to feed?"

"Excellent reasoning, Sherlock," Ice said, sticking out her tongue.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Would you have believed me? I mean, I was turned during our adventure in Nosgoth, and until a few minutes ago, you were convinced that all of that had been a dream."

"But you told Rupali?"

Ice shrugged. "Rupali doesn't have an irrational fear of vampires like you do."

"My fear of vampires is perfectly rational!" I snapped.

"I'd be inclined to disagree...anyway. Go get some rest while I work on Dumah. He needs to know the rules about this world. And I should probably warn Rupali..."

"I'm sure Rupali can handle herself," I muttered. Ice sighed, but walked back into the laundry room. I went to the linen closet and pulled a blanket out. Then I climbed onto the couch and settled down for a long, restless sleep.

I woke much later. Judging by the way that the light was filtering through the curtains, I'd slept through the entire morning, and possibly into midafternoon. I slowly sat up and rubbed my eyes. The house seemed to be in order. Maybe last night was just a bad dream...

"Finally awake, Amara?" said a familiar voice. My heart sank as I turned around to find Dumah standing behind the couch. Without a word, I stood up and walked back to my room.

Strangely enough, the room was in good shape. There was no sign that any fighting had occurred there, except...  
None of the furniture was mine. At least, I certainly didn't remember having a tacky green 70's-era dresser, or a white four-poster bed...and my closet door had definitely not been painted yellow before.

I shrugged and went to the closet. Everything was there. I chose a simple burgundy sweater and some jeans to wear, and then I went into the bathroom, shut the door firmly behind me, and started running water in the shower. _Dumah wouldn't dare bother me in here,_ I thought. I wondered if I could make the shower my own personal vampire fortress.

When it was the right temperature, I climbed in. The hot water soothed my tired muscles and helped me feel as though I really could wash waya the events of the previous night. For a few minutes, I allowed myself to forget that anything out of the ordinary was happening. I remembered then, too late, that Alex had given me some lavender-vanilla bubble bath. It would have been perfect to unwind with.

After I was finished, I toweled off, dressed, and combed my hair, ready to face another day. College would be starting back up soon, and I could focus my attention on things other than the vampires in my life. Things like academics.

_It's just two more weeks, _I told myself. _Just two more weeks._

_  
_How much mayhem could one vampire cause in two weeks, anyway?


	4. Chapter III

**CHAPTER III  
A/N: This chapter contains lyrics from Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" Also, I love my reviewers! All of you! Each and every one. :D Thanks for leaving feedback. I appreciate it.**

**  
**When I left the bathroom, Rupali cornered me.  
"Who is your sexy vampire friend? I didn't know you hung out with vampires..." She grinned widely, her white teeth contrasting sharply with her dark skin. She was almost like a schoolgirl, eager to find out the dirt on the new kid. She pushed her purple dreads out of her face.  
"Uh...he's not—I mean, we're not _really--_"  
"Don't feed me that line of bull!" Rupali interrupted. "Ice told me the whole story while you were in the shower! _She _said that you two sort of dated back then!"

_Sort of doesn't even come close, _I thought. Rupali crossed her arms and shifted her weight to the left, clearly waiting for me to say something.  
"Are you asking me if it's okay if you go after him?" As soon as I spoke, Rupali's eyes lit up, but otherwise, she kept a straight face.  
"Well, I mean, your friend's ex is off-limits, isn't he? I wouldn't want to breach some kind of friend contract...so I thought I'd ask before I pursued him. Courtesy and all that."  
I snorted. "You can have him. If he'll have you, anyway."

At that, Rupali giggled. "He'll have me. You mark my words." She turned and walked back toward the kitchen. Then she stopped and turned around. "Oh. It's my turn to make dinner tonight. I invited Sawyer, so he'll be over. Call your boyfriend...what's his name? Aleki? Al..? Anyway, call him and see if he wants to come. I don't really want a lot of leftovers. Nobody ever eats my leftovers." Her voice took on a note of mock sadness.

I groaned, quietly, and shook my head. Just what I needed, my ex-boyfriend, my current boyfriend, and a vampire who seemed to think he had been my boyfriend all over for dinner at the same time. Boy, didn't that sound like more fun than a barrel of monkeys.  
Rupali heard me groan. "What? Sawyer's a hottie, D...Dil...Dua—whatever your vampire boytoy's name is, he's a hottie too. I'm a single lady, I gotta keep my options open!"

**  
**I laughed and shook my head. Then I walked back to my room. To my shock, Dumah was sitting on the bed, next to Ice.  
"Sorry about the ugly green dresser. And the yellow door. I had to fix things in a hurry," Ice said in a chipper tone. "Dumah was a great help getting things fixed!"

Dumah glared at Ice while she talked, but when he looked at me his gaze softened. Sort of.  
"Close the door," he said as Ice was about to start a new sentence. "We need to talk."  
I obeyed him, not sure what was going to happen. Part of me was afraid that they'd made some kind of freaky vampire alliance and that I was about to be their first meal together. Part of me feared something worse...something much, much worse...something which I dared not even allow myself to think of.

"So, Dumah doesn't know anybody here," Ice said. "And he doesn't really know the ropes of this world too well. So I was thinking--"  
"I'm moving in," Dumah said bluntly.  
_My worst fear confirmed!  
_"You're _what_?"  
"Oh, 'Mara," Ice chided, "We have that extra bedroom downstairs, just across from Rupali's room. No one's using it, and it would be a shame for it to go to waste..."  
"I thought that was the pass-out room."  
Ice rolled her eyes. "Like your drunk music major friends can get down the stairs to pass out there."  
She had a point. I was sounding petty.

"Shouldn't we tell Rupali? I'm sure she'll be delighted," I said, having nothing else to say.  
"I'll tell her," Ice said. "I think you and Dumah should go out and jobhunt. I mean, he's got to pay his way like the rest of us..."  
I gulped. Dumah? Me? Alone in a car? That sounded like a bad idea. He'd probably try to kill me while I was finding a parking place at Suck-Mart. Furthermore, the idea of Dumah having a job in customer service was terrifying. He'd probably kill someone on his first day.

The mental picture was amusing, though. Dumah standing at a cash register, in the Suck-Mart uniform, while some obnoxious trailer trash couple tried to give him a hard time. I smiled, slightly, picturing Dumah becoming more and and more impatient until he finally unleashed on the next person to talk down to him.

"You're smiling," Dumah said. "I'm going to assume that you are quite all right with this arrangement."  
"I...really...don't think Dumah should have a job here," I said slowly, "I mean, most of the jobs here in town are customer service jobs. He wouldn't last five minutes."  
Ice pursed her lips. "You have a point...I mean, this isn't some Mary Sue fanfiction where the Vampire Lieutenant is magically okay with being a cashier at Suck-Mart despite never having waited on anyone in his life. This is real life we're talking about."  
Dumah opened his mouth to ask what a Mary Sue fanfiction was, thought better of it, and waited for Ice to speak again.  
"I suppose we could set him to work keeping the place tidy," Ice said, as an afterthought.  
"I beg your pardon!" Dumah snapped, "Do I look like a chambermaid?"  
"You've got to earn your keep," Ice said, in her best matronly tone. Dumah growled.  
"It's best for all of us if you do this," Ice continued, "I mean, let's face it. The first time you went to work at Suck-Mart you'd gut the first person to mouth off to you. That's something we'd rather not deal with."  
Dumah sighed.

"We won't make you do the dishes," I chimed in, trying to be a little helpful lest Dumah become frustrated enough to kill us all.  
Dumah stood up and walked toward the door. He paused. He wasn't stupid, and he surely knew that leaving the only people he knew in a highly unfamiliar place was stupid. There was a long, tense silence, and then...  
"Could you show me to my room, Ice?" Ice nodded and stood up.  
"Hey, Amara, could you tell Rupali that we have a new roommate?"  
I nodded and walked past Dumah, to the door. When I opened it, I heard a shrill cry. I cautiously peeked around the door and found Rupali rubbing her forehead.

"Oww."  
"Serves you right for eavesdropping," I teased.  
"I was curious," Rupali said, sticking out her tongue.  
"So you know about our new roommate, then?"  
Rupali's answer was to gently push me aside and walk right up to Dumah.  
"So you're moving in, are you?" she purred, looking Dumah up and down. She smiled flirtatiously at him. Dumah was taken aback for a moment, but then he returned the smile.  
"And what might your name be?" Rupali cooed. She was really turning the charm up for him.  
"My name is Dumah," he said. He eyed her, almost like he was appraising her, and for just a minute I was a little bit jealous. Only for a minute though. I mean, I had a super boyfriend and Dumah _had _turned me over to Kain, who surely would have killed me...so why should I have been jealous of Rupali? If she wanted the vampire, she could have him!  
"Let me show you to your room," Rupali said with a coy smile. She motioned for Dumah to follow her, and he gladly did.  
There was that twinge of jealousy again. Ice noticed.

"Jealous?"  
"Why should I be?" I snapped. _Too defensive. _Ice just smiled a knowing smile.  
"She'll get over him real quick."  
"I have a boyfriend, Ice."  
Ice smiled again, that knowing smile.  
"You're impossible."  
"I try," she giggled. She ran her fingers through her long, wavy dirty-blonde hair. She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the shrill ringing of the phone.  
"I'll get it," I said. I ran over to where I had left the phone last night, picked it up, and pressed the "talk" button.

"Hello?"  
"Amara! How's it going?" Alex's gentle voice was on the other end. The sound of his voice gave me the sense that all was right in the world.  
"Great!" I replied. "What's going on?"  
"I think we need to talk..." He sounded bothered. I took the phone into my room, away from the prying ears of my roommates. Not that there were any. Ice had started doing dishes and Rupali was no doubt showing Dumah her nipple piercings or her new inner thigh tattoo or something. Still, I'd rather have privacy for this. Alex sounded very serious.  
"What's wrong, babe?"  
"It would be better for us to talk about this in person," Alex said. "It's nothing _bad,_ I just think we need to talk. Can I come over tonight?"  
"Rupali's making dinner--"  
"Oh, well, in that case--"  
"No, you can come! She specifically told me to ask you over tonight," I interrupted. Alex was quiet. He seemed to be thinking about something. For some reason, I had a feeling that the talk he wanted to have was something pretty heavy. He'd said it was nothing bad, but...well. Maybe I was just being paranoid.  
"What's she making?" Alex's voice took away my apprehension. He sounded more relaxed than before.  
"Um...I don't know...probably that coconut chicken curry stuff she made a couple weeks ago. We do still have the curry powder and a can of coconut milk..."  
"You talked me into it. What time is dinner?"  
"Sevenish. Same as always."  
"Awesome. See you at seven. Love you, Amara."  
"Love you too!"

Click.

I flopped back on my (new) bed and sighed deeply. School would be starting in two weeks and Alex would be leaving the summer dorm and would be moving into either the Honors House or...I froze. Maybe he wanted to ask to move in with me! Yes, that had to be it. That explained his wanting to talk in person and his apprehension. I smiled broadly and daydreamed about the scenario.  
_Why are you so nervous, Alex?  
Well, I was thinking. We've been together for a year. I really like where this is going and I think we have a future together. So, I was wondering...  
Yes, Alex?  
I'd really like to move in with you.  
Oh, of course you can!  
_For a little while, I forgot all about my new vampire roommate and the complications that would no doubt arise from Sawyer, Dumah, and Alex all being at dinner together.

* * *

Alex arrived about a half-hour early. When I answered the door he smiled shyly. His brown hair was tousled, and he was wearing a red shirt, with the top buttons undone, and black slacks. He had his hands in his pockets, and his shoulders were slumped over. He seemed very apprehensive. _Oh, if he only knew I'm saying yes! _He hugged me and kissed me deeply when I let him in. He was wearing his favorite cologne and it reminded me of all times we'd spent together over the last year.

"It smells good," he said as we walked past the kitchen and toward my room. I ushered him in and had him take a seat on the bed. He looked around. "You got a new bed...very nice." His eyes fell on the tacky green 70's dresser. "That's...um, well, it's new, isn't it?"  
"Yeah, um, when that guy broke in and beat you up last night he trashed my old dresser..."  
"You're not hurt, are you? I mean, he didn't..."  
"I'm fine!" I said. "I was really worried about you, though!"  
"I just had a mild concussion," Alex said. "But I can't believe that happened! In a small town like Butte Heights!"  
"Yeah," I said, "The police are looking into it..."

_I hope he doesn't recognize Dumah as the man who attacked him!  
_"I'm glad you're okay, though," Alex said. His brown eyes held a look of concern. "I was really worried."  
"No, he just broke in and trashed my room and left." It wasn't exactly a lie...  
Alex smiled and gently kissed me. Then he kissed me again.

"What is it you wanted to talk about?" I asked. Alex sighed and he became very nervous again. He looked sad, almost like he was about to tell me that my grandmother died. Neither of us spoke. The silence in the air grew heavier and heavier.

The doorbell rang, and Rupali's cheerful "Come in!" echoed throughout the house.

Finally, Alex spoke. "Do you remember how I signed up to study in Europe last year?"  
"Yeah. There weren't any open spots, though, were there?" I didn't like where this conversation was going. My heart sank as I realized that Alex wasn't going to ask to move in, after all.  
I heard the front door open and close again, and Sawyer's greeting, followed by a burst of Rupali's infectious laughter. How dare they be happy when my plans for today were turning out all wrong!  
Alex sighed. "Well. A spot opened up and it was offered to me."  
"Please tell me you took it. You've always wanted to study in Europe. That's been your dream for as long as I've known you!" The words spilled out of my mouth before I could stop them. Really, I wanted to beg Alex to ignore his dream and stay with me. I wanted to be selfish.

_So much hate for the ones we love/tell me we both matter don't we?_

_  
_ Alex sighed again, a relieved sigh. "I did take the spot. You're okay with it? You're not upset?"  
"Not at all!" Again, the words slipped out too fast. Part of me wished I could go with him. Part of me wished that he was the one who had to deal with the vampire roommates, and I was the one who got to study abroad. I shook my head. That was a really messed up thing for me to think. I should have been happy for Alex, and I was, but I felt almost like I was being abandoned at my hour of need.

_If I only could make a deal with G-d and get Him to swap our places..._

_  
_"So...are we breaking up?" I asked, trying to ease the silence.  
"Well, I'm going to be in Europe for a year...but, I think we've been together long enough that our relationship can withstand this. I mean, we did okay when I spent last summer in New York with my family."  
"It was really hard, though."  
"We'll get through this," Alex promised. "I'll call you as often as I can, because I'm going to miss your voice..." He let his voice trail off. "I'm going to miss _all _of you," he finished. He pulled me into a gentle embrace. I pressed myself close against him and buried my face in his chest.  
"I don't want you to go," I admitted. I finally allowed myself to cry.  
"It's only for a year."  
"What if--"  
"Ssh." He gently tipped my face up to his and kissed me, deeply. I kissed him back, fiercely, like I'd never get the chance to kiss him again.

After a few minutes of passionate kissing, Alex moved his kisses lower, to my neck and to the skin on my chest that was exposed by the neckline on my sweater. His hands wandered over me while I started unbuttoning his shirt.  
Just then, someone knocked once and the door slowly opened. It creaked loudly, startling both Alex and I. We whipped around to see who had walked in on us.  
"Oh, damn, your door did that not-shutting-all-the-way thing it does sometimes," said Rupali. "It totally came open by itself while I was knocking!" She shrugged. "Anyway, dinner's ready. So, um, could you guys put your passion on hold?"


	5. Interlude: Dumah's POV

**Interlude: Dumah's POV**

When Rupali showed Dumah his room, she pulled him aside and asked him for a date right away. Dumah was struck dumb. For one thing, he had no idea what a date was. For another, he'd never met a woman as forward as she was. Or unusual. Dumah had never seen a woman with dark skin before, let alone one who had tattoos, facial piercings, and purple dreadlocks. She waited expectantly for his answer.

"Where are you from?" Dumah blurted out before he could stop himself. He was going to ask Rupali why her hair was purple but thought that it might be impolite. He didn't know what this world's laws of etiquette were yet. Maybe there were lots of humans with purple hair in this world.  
"Me? I'm from Butte Heights. My parents are professors at the college."  
"But your skin's so--" There he went, just talking before thinking again.  
"Oh, my dad's black and my mom's Indian. Dot-not-feather," Rupali explained. This left Dumah more confused, but he decided not ask any further questions. Ice had already warned him to not give away that he was from another world entirely.  
"Fascinating," Dumah said. Rupali smiled.  
"Yeah, it's pretty cool. Anyway..." She paused and moved very close to Dumah. "About that date?"  
"Well...um. All right."

That'd be something to ask Amara. What, exactly, was a date?

"Wonderful! We'll go for coffee on Saturday! I'm so excited!" Rupali hugged him and interrupted his thoughts. Then she walked out of the room, exaggerating the sway in her hips, perhaps more than was necessary.

Dumah couldn't fathom her. He was flattered, though. He'd been in this strange new world barely a day and women were already throwing themselves at him. He shrugged and took in his surroundings. The room was small, with one window, next to the queen-size mattress on the floor which was, no doubt, his bed. There was red shag carpet on the floor. A small nightstand stood by the mattress, and just across from it was a closet which was quite bare. He took a seat on the mattress and ran his fingers through his black hair. These were not the luxurious surroundings he was used to.

_I wonder what Amara and her housemates do for a living...they don't seem to be very wealthy._

_  
_He'd ask Amara, if she'd ever speak to him. Or, perhaps he'd ask Rupali. She seemed to be more than eager to answer his questions.  
He thought back to the rules that Ice had told him: No killing, drink only from willing donors, don't turn anybody who asks, and don't draw attention to yourself. He wasn't sure quite yet how he was going to avoid catching attention. He was nearly seven feet tall, after all. And if his magic didn't work here the way it did in Nosgoth...well. He looked down at his clothes. No shirt, leather pants. He could feel his shoulder armor. He'd need clothes for this G-dforsaken world, as well. Sighing deeply, he laid back on the mattress. _What did I do to deserve this?_

_  
_He laid that way for a long time. How long, he was not sure of.  
He only stirred when he heard a knock at the door.  
"It's Rupali. Dinner's almost ready. Come on up!" He heard her walk away.  
_Doesn't she know I can't eat human food? Still...I'd better go up or she'll be hounding me all night._  
Sitting up with a long sigh, Dumah took off his shoulder armor and reluctantly headed upstairs.

Ice was finishing setting the table. She was wearing a simple black halter top and jeans, and her wavy dark blonde hair was pulled back in a low ponytail. She smiled when she saw him.  
"Are you going to like the room?" she asked.  
Dumah nodded. Telling the truth would be a breach of etiquette and her certainly didn't want to offend his hosts. He heard Rupali knock on Amara's door.

"So, um, could you guys put your passion on hold?" Rupali sounded a little bit flustered. Amara must have been in the room with her lover, then. To his surprise, Dumah found himself feeling a little jealous.

_There's no reason to be jealous. She's a little slip of a girl. If she's with some other human, that's better for her. See if I care._

_  
_There was a sharp tap on his shoulder, and startled, Dumah wheeled around to face the person who had done it. He found himself staring at a young man with long, black hair and deep, blue eyes. He was wearing all black, and he wore a simple silver chain around his neck.  
"Hey, relax," said the young man, "I just wanted to know if you were the new roommate."  
"I am," Dumah gruffly replied.  
"Pleased to meet you! My name's Sawyer." The young man beamed and extended his right hand. Dumah stared at it. _What am I supposed to do here, _he thought. _Do I take his hand and clasp it like I do with my soldiers...?_

Deciding that that was the best course of action to take, Dumah firmly clasped Sawyer's hand in his. He was expecting Sawyer to clasp his other hand over his own, as was the custom in Nosgoth, but instead...

"Uh...you shake it," Sawyer said after a few minutes of awkward, confused silence.  
"Oh, of _course_ you do!" Dumah replied, beginning an overly enthusiastic handshake. "How silly of me to forget!"  
Sawyer eyed Dumah with suspicion, then pulled his hand away from Dumah's. "You're flippin' weird," he said before he walked back into the kitchen.

Somehow, Dumah was aware that Sawyer didn't mean that as a compliment. He followed Sawyer into the kitchen and took a seat at the table, next to Ice.

Rupali was standing at the counter, spooning something that smelled divine into a large serving dish. "Hey, Dumah, could you put the rice on the table?"  
Dumah bristled at the command but quietly stood, walked to the counter, picked up the large bowl of rice, and set it in the center of the table.  
"Thanks! You're a doll!" Rupali said. She finished what she was doing and set the dish in the middle of the table. Dumah peered into it, curious. It looked like chicken and vegetables in some kind of thick sauce.  
"Coconut chicken curry," Rupali said. "You'll love it."  
_If I could eat it, _Dumah thought. It smelled divine, though.  
"What do you want to drink, Dumah?"  
"Drink?"

His answer at home would undoubtedly have been "the blood of virgins" but here, that would be uncouth. "Do you have any wine?"  
"Uh...lemme check." Rupali peeked into the fridge and pulled out a bottle of a strange, pink liquid that frightened Dumah a bit.  
"All the wine we have is this Boone's Farm. I don't even know what flavor it is, but you can have it." She set the whole bottle on the table next to Dumah, got Sawyer and Ice their drinks, then walked toward Amara's room and shouted. "It's getting cold! Get out here! Now!"

Amara was the first to emerge. Her skin was a little flushed, like she'd been embarrassed. Her long, straight blonde hair was tousled. Slightly behind her was a handsome young man with brown hair and brown eyes. He looked pretty flustered himself. When they took their seats at the table the young man put his arm around Amara's shoulders, and Dumah felt that little twinge of envy again. He was able to push it aside. _What is it to me? Honestly. She's a good eight or nine hundred years my junior, and a human besides!_

_  
_Everyone was silent while the food was passed around. When the food reached Dumah, he took a small helping, so as not to appear impolite. Then he opened the bottle of Boone's Farm and took a small, very small sip.  
It was hard for him to not be ill. That was _wine? _It was watered down and much too sweet to be wine! Then he remembered he was in the human realm, and humans had no taste.

"Excuse me," said the young man seated next to Amara, "But, I don't think we've met..."  
"My name is Dumah," Dumah said, slowly, "I'm their new housemate..."  
"He's fuckin' weird," Sawyer mumbled. Amara glared at him.  
"Sawyer!"  
"He is!"  
"He's from another country," Amara went on, "He's a little ignorant of our customs."  
Dumah was pleasantly surprised that Amara was defending him. He figured she'd be the first to insult him.  
The young man seated next to Amara appeared interested. "Oh, really? Where are you from?"  
"I'm from...uh, someplace very far away..."  
"He's from Utah," Ice interrupted. Sawyer looked agitated.  
"Utah isn't another country, dumbass."  
"It might as well be," Amara interjected. Her lover laughed at this.  
"Regardless, Dumah, it's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Alex."

Dumah hoped he wouldn't have to shake hands again.


	6. Chapter IV

**CHAPTER IV  
**

School started rather uneventfully. I didn't drive Alex to the airport like I meant to, he preferred to go alone. I missed him terribly, and for the first few weeks of school I wandered about the house in a daze. I would go to my room after class and not come out, not even for parties. That changed when Rupali reminded me that I was turning twenty-one soon and she wasn't going to let me mope around all the time for that, no-sir, not when she was already twenty-one and looking forward to taking me out to the bar, so I'd better just plan on cheering up in time for my birthday.

Dumah was fast becoming a fixture in our lives. He used to stand over my shoulder when I would work on my math homework and point out everything that was wrong with my equations. Once I was working on a particularly troublesome equation, and Dumah leaned over my shoulder. I could feel his breath against my cheek.

"There's an easier way to do that," he said quietly. I noticed that he was very close to me, and that, curiously enough, his nearness had ceased to bother me since he first appeared in this world. It seemed the most natural thing in the world for him to do at the time. He took the pencil from me and hastily scribbled a shortcut in the pages of my textbook.

"Hey, careful! I won't be able to sell that back at semester if you keep doing that," I teased.  
"I highly doubt that writing this down will prevent you from selling this book," Dumah purred. "It's a shortcut. I've just done you and the next poor human to own this book a favor." He looked at what he'd scribbled into my book, and at my homework. "Why do you humans always insist on doing everything the long, drawn-out, difficult way?"

That was an interesting question, which I could not answer. I turned to face Dumah to tell him that I couldn't answer his question and met his gaze. He had deep, violet eyes that drew me in. I had forgotten what his eyes looked like. They were hypnotic. Why, I might almost trust him if I looked into his eyes for long enough. He opened his mouth to speak and I looked away from him, and at the clock. "Oh! I have my night class soon! I need to go!"  
"Amara, wait..."  
"No, I have to go! And then as soon as I get home I need to call Alex!" I quickly gathered up my books and hurried out of the kitchen, leaving Dumah alone. No, not alone. Ice came out of her room then.  
"Dumah...?" she said, moving toward him. I left then. I didn't want to be privy to any vampire secrets. I'd seen some worrying headlines in the papers, headlines along the lines of "Blood Bank robbed!". I suspected that Ice and Dumah were behind some of these. They did always seem to have a supply of blood, and I never noticed any donors coming in...

Weeks turned into months. Before I knew it, August melted into October and October transformed into November.  
It was three days before my birthday when I got the call.

* * *

_Dumah worried about Amara. She seemed to have an unhealthy attachment to her lover. What was his name? He hadn't bothered to remember. It occurred to Dumah that it was silly to be worried about Amara, as she was only human and more than capable of taking care of herself, but he wanted to take her and shake her by the shoulders. Her lover had been calling less and less, and when he did call their conversations, which had once lasted as long as two hours, had become short, sometimes as short as ten minutes. Amara was never the first to say goodbye. It bothered Dumah that a girl as smart as Amara could not have noticed that Alex was distancing himself from her. Didn't she understand that he very likely had met someone else in that other country, or that maybe he had never really loved her and was just realizing this.  
He hoped Amara would figure this out before she got hurt. For some odd reason, Dumah didn't want to see her hurt.  
The fact that he cared enough to not want to see Amara hurt was much more disconcerting to him than the idea of Amara being hurt was._

_

* * *

  
_

It could have been any other November morning. I sat patiently by the phone. Alex had said he would call today. It would have been in the afternoon in the part of Europe where Alex was studying, and I was eagerly awaiting his call. He'd said it was important.  
The phone rang, and I jumped, startled. I quickly grabbed it.

"Hello!" My voice was too enthusiastic, too cheerful.  
There was silence on the other line, and then an automated voice. "This is the second notice that the factory warranty on your vehicle is expiring..."  
"Oh, fuck off!" I shouted at the machine, knowing full well it wasn't going to do any good. Machines can't hear you screaming, after all.  
Still, Alex, said he'd call. He always called when he said he would.

Dumah walked into the room and saw me waiting by the phone.  
"Pathetic," he said plainly.  
I glared at him.  
"Well, it is. You are the very image of pathetic, unwavering devotion."  
"Sort of like your devotion to Kain?" I snapped.  
"Don't bring things you don't understand into this," Dumah muttered.  
"You turned me over to him without question," I said, accusingly. "You as good as killed me."  
Dumah said nothing.  
"How could you let me think you loved me and then---and then--"  
"You'll understand when you get older," Dumah said. He said it simply. After a long, awkward silence, Dumah spoke again. "I hope he doesn't disappoint you."  
"Oh, sympathy from the Devil," I spat. Dumah sighed deeply and left the room, lest he say anything that could start a serious argument.

The phone rang again and I picked it up. This time, my hello was not so enthusiastic.  
"Amara?" Alex's voice sounded tinny and distant, as though it were a whole world between us instead of just one ocean.  
"Alex! Oh, honey, how are you?" I quickly picked up the phone and took it to my room, for a little more privacy.  
"I'm on my cell, so I can't be long," Alex said.  
"What's going on, baby?" I wondered if he was ill, or if he had to go further away or if he was going to be gone longer than he had expected to be.  
"We....we need to--" I heard static. I hoped that he hadn't lost the call. Then his voice came back. "Sorry. It's windy. We need to talk."  
Over the months since Alex had gone, I noticed that he'd called me baby and honey and darling less and less, until he hadn't called me any of those things at all. It had not, until then, occurred to me that Alex had stopped using terms of endearment entirely.  
"I don't...I didn't mean for this to happen...." Another gust of wind. My heart sank.

"Sorry. It's really windy. Anyway, Amara, I've met someone. We were friends and...oh, Amara, I never meant for it to turn into what it has..."  
"You cheated on me?" The words spilled out before I could stop them.  
"No, Amara...I've fallen in love with someone else."  
In that instant, I felt the same pang of betrayal I had felt all those years ago when Dumah had kissed me to keep me from screaming as I watched Ice's murder, and then when Dumah had handed me over to Kain without an argument.  
"So...so that's it, then? We're through?"  
"Amara, please don't be angry..."

"Why shouldn't I be angry?" I was crying now. It occurred to me that I was raising my voice, but I didn't care. "Do you realize how much I love you, Alex? Do you have any fucking clue at all? I waited by the phone for you every day..."  
"Amara...please, don't make this harder than it has to be--"  
"Fuck you, Alex! Fuck you! I don't want anything to do with you!"  
There was a long silence. I knew Alex was still on the line. Tears streamed down my face but I wouldn't let him hear me cry.  
"I'm sorry. I'd...I hoped we could still be friends." Alex sounded sincere. "You're a wonderful girl and I did, and still do, love you dearly...it's just that my love for you has changed...it's a platonic love, now."  
I didn't speak. It was some consolation to know that he still loved me in some way.  
"Is this...why you didn't call?"  
Alex didn't answer. I tried another question.  
"What's her name? Alex, what's her name? I...I want to know."  
"_His _name," Alex corrected, "Is Iannis."

His name?

There was another long, awkward silence.  
"Well," I said, trying my best to sound cheerful, "Have a nice life." I hung up before Alex could respond. The phone rang again, but I didn't answer.

I quietly took the phone back to the living room and set it in the charger. It rang once more, and once more I ignored the ringing. Dumah was sitting on the couch watching some ridiculous MTV reality show. He looked up. "I'm still shocked by what brazen sluts the women of your world are. Oh," he said nonchalantly, noticing my puffy, red eyes and runny mascara, "Is everything all right?"

"Leave me alone," I growled. I took my car keys off the hook and stormed outside. I climbed into my car, slammed the door, and sped off toward downtown. I wouldn't be twenty-one for another three days so there was no sense trying to go to a bar, but maybe there'd be something there to take my mind off the hurt I was feeling. My long hair fell into my face and I pushed it away. Then I remembered.  
Alex had loved my hair. I could see him in my mind's eye, snuggled up beside me the first time he spent the night with me. He caressed and kissed my hair then. "Don't ever cut it," he said, "I love it long like this."

The next shop I passed was a hair salon called Curl up and Dye. I pulled into the parking lot and walked in. There was a big, burly man at the counter. He had a handlebar moustache and his brown hair was cut into a decidedly unfashionable mullet. He was doing some kind of paperwork, but he looked up at me after a few minutes.

"Oh, hey honey. What can I do for you?" Although he was a big, burly man with a bad haircut, he had the most stereotypical gay-man voice I had ever heard. That made me feel a little better.  
"Do you take walk-ins?" I asked.  
"I sure do, honey! In fact, I have an opening right now."  
"I'll take it," I said. The stylist grabbed one of those haircut bibs and led me into a chair. He put the bib over me with a flourish.  
"Okay, honey, what'll it be?"  
"I want you to cut my hair off. All of it."  
The man looked at me, puzzled. "All of it? But you have such beautiful hair! I have clients who pay me big money to make their hair do what yours does naturally."  
"Please cut it off," I said.  
"Are you sure?"  
"Yes," I said, "Very sure."


	7. Chapter V

**CHAPTER V**

The stylist at the salon did an excellent job with my hair. He had refused to shave my head, stating that the bald look "just wouldn't go with your face shape, honey". In the end, he had cut my hair in a fashionable short, shaggy bob that was shorter in the back, with blunt cut bangs that fell just below my eyebrows. "This," said the hairdresser, "frames your face beautifully. You look strong, but still feminine. Ooh! We should color it!" Feeling emboldened, I allowed the stylist to bleach my hair so that it was almost white, and to put pink and blue streaks in the front sections of my hair. When he was finished, I looked in the mirror and smiled.

_A drastic change. Brilliant._

After I left the hair salon I drove out of town, deep into the wilderness surrounding Butte Falls. Butte Falls is located in the southern area of Montana. What few trees there are grow short and scraggly (excepting the trees fortunate enough to have sprung up along the rivers), and the dry, barren land is populated mostly by sagebrush, pronghorns, and jackrabbits. There was a dirt road I used to drive when I was sixteen and angry with my parents, or with Sawyer, and I was trying to remember where, exactly, it was. I needed to spend a little time driving that road. I remembered that it was a winding, narrow road that eventually snaked back to town. I didn't want to go home and break the news about my newly-single status to my roommates just yet. Dumah would say "I told you so," Ice would attempt to cheer me up and say the wrong thing, and Rupali would insist that we all get blisteringly drunk in an attempt to cheer me up.

Then again, being blisteringly drunk didn't seem all bad at the moment. I pulled off onto a dirt road, turned around, and headed back to town on the paved road.

I wasn't able to find that road I'd been looking for, anyway.

I pulled into the driveway as quietly as possible. I was hoping to surprise Ice and Rupali with my new haircut, and as for Dumah...well, what did I care anyway? I stood outside my car for a minute. It was a crisp, cool autumn day. There were still some yellow leaves on the trees. I had expected the weather to turn cold and rainy, or snowy, like the movies or a sappy romance novel where the weather fits the character's moods. I felt a little cheated that Mother Nature wouldn't change the weather for me, but then I shrugged it off and went into the house.

Dumah was still sitting on the couch, watching a different MTV reality show than he had been when I left, but it was every bit as ridiculous as the one he had been watching before.

"I see you're back," he said, never taking his eyes off the screen, "Do you feel better?"

"Tons," I said, while I hung up my jacket and walked into the living room. Dumah kept his eyes glued to some blonde bimbo on the screen who was trying (and failing miserably) at walking a tightrope.

"The things you people do for money. Is your whole world this shallow?" Dumah asked.

"Yeah," I said nonchalantly, walking to my room. "Good thing you have forever to get used to it."

"Oh, I hope not," Dumah groaned. "Surely Kain has sent someone to come get me."

"How?" I paused in the doorway.

"I'm sure that the Veil between your world and mine is easily penetrated...I mean, I got here, didn't I? So if Kain sent someone who knew how to pass through the Veil to come get me..."

"Keep dreaming, Dumah. I think you're stuck with us. At least until you've adjusted to this world enough to leave."

"And suppose I'd rather stay here to torment yo--" He abruptly stopped talking. He had turned to look at me, and he stared, wide-eyed.  
"Your...your hair..."

"Do you like it?" I giggled, and, for no reason at all, coyly winked and flounced my hair.

Dumah narrowed his eyes, opened his mouth, and then shook his head. "It suits you," he said flatly. He quickly turned away but I thought I saw the corners of his mouth turned up in a slight smile.

"Amara, is that—_Oh holy hell, what happened to your hair_?" Rupali had come up from downstairs and stopped dead at the top of the landing. Her mouth was hanging wide open. She stared at me for a moment, then all but ran toward me. She fluffed my hair with her hands and smiled.

"Omigod, who convinced you to finally cut off all your hair? Ooh, and you even had it colored. I love it! It's so you! Does Alex know? How does he feel about it?"

I looked down almost at once. Rupali stepped away from me.

"Everything's still okay between you guys, right?"

I shook my head. "We broke up today."

"Oh, Amara, I'm so sorry...what happened?"

"He met someone else. A man."

"No shit." Rupali didn't seem to be surprised at all by this revelation. "Well. He was always kind of a tool anyway, wasn't he. You're better off..."

Her voice trailed off when she looked at my face. "Anyway. Your birthday's in three days. I'm excited! Now we can all go out dancing and drinking and..." She smiled broadly. "My little baby's all grown up!"

"You and Ice are only six months older than I am," I mumbled, but Rupali was already headed back downstairs. I smiled and rolled my eyes. It was impossible to stay upset around Rupali. I walked into the kitchen and set a pot of coffee brewing. It occurred to me that one of my roommates was missing. Where was Ice?

I peeked my head around the corner, into the living room. "Hey, Dumah, have you seen Ice?"

"No," he said simply.

Hm. Well, she'd be back before long. I decided to sit on the couch with Dumah while I waited for my coffee.

"So what are you watching?"

Dumah shrugged. "I didn't catch the name of this one. Something about a boy seeing a girl who his parents don't like, so they send him on dates with two girls they've picked. It's ridiculous, and the women are all such hussies...but I can't stop watching."

"Yeah," I said, "MTV will do that to you."

We watched for a few minutes in silence as the boy, a rather attractive blonde athlete-type set out on a date with the horse-faced brunette girl his mother had chosen for him. They seemed to be about to race canoes.

"This is asinine," Dumah groaned. "He ought to just tell his parents and his hussy to just...how do they say it in your world? Suck it? He should tell them to suck it, and then go find a nice respectable woman."

I stared wide-eyed at Dumah. "Wow. You're getting good at Earth slang."

He smiled. "Well, thank you."

Dumah looked so handsome in that moment, with his shoulder-length black hair loose. Some strands fell in his face, giving him a careless, boyish look. His violet eyes glimmered, drawing me in as they had done years before.

He moved closer to me. His eyes weren't on the screen anymore. They were watching me.

"You are so...." Dumah's voice was low, barely a murmur.

I nervously bit my lip and quickly averted my eyes.

"No, don't look away," Dumah whispered. I felt his cool hand stroke my cheek. I looked up. His violet eyes glittered with invitation—and desire. "Just look at me..."

He moved closer and tipped his face toward mine. Oh, God, if I wasn't careful...

I jumped up before he could kiss me. "My coffee's finished!" I squeaked, hurrying out of the room.

Dumah shook his head. "Next time, maybe," he said with a short laugh.**  
**

_God, that was close, _I thoughtwhile I poured myself a cup of steaming hot coffee. I went to the fridge and took out a container of caramel-flavored half-and-half and poured it in. _If I had stayed any longer, I would have...we would have..._

I shuddered. He would have kissed me and I would have let him.

_I'm not that kind of girl, _I assured myself. _I just broke up with my boyfriend, for God's sake! I am not one of those..._

I started stirring my coffee furiously. I felt as though I had betrayed Alex, even though he had certainly betrayed me. I was still attached. Part of me was hoping for another call from Alex, that'd say he'd made a terrible mistake and could I forgive him?

_We were together for a year. Of course I'm still attached to him._

_  
_"Why do you drink coffee?"

I jumped and wheeled around to face Dumah. "I enjoy it," I said quickly. "Have you ever tried it?"

"I've never seen the appeal."

Without thinking, I offered Dumah my cup. "Here, try it..."

"No thank you," he said. He gently pushed my hands away from him. "You enjoy it."

"Why did you follow me in here?"

"Because I like to watch you stammer and blush," Dumah quipped. "Because...well..." He shook his head. "Never mind."

I took a sip of my coffee and moved away from him. "You shouldn't have tried to...to...you know."

"Why not?" Dumah said. "You're a single woman now. You're fair game, are you not?"

"You've been watching too much MTV," I muttered. "Look. I was with Alex for a long time. I'm not some plastic beach blonde skank who immediately goes looking for a new man to fill the void her old one left."

"So I should give you time to grieve?" Dumah's smile was wicked. I could have sworn I saw an uncharacteristic twinkle in his eye.

"You should consider me off-limits. Always," I growled. "Why are you even so interested in me anyway? Honestly. I'm human. You're a vampire. You led me on before, why should I trust you now?"

Dumah opened his mouth, but I quickly cut him off. "I am not going to fall for your games again! Why don't you go to Ice?"

Dumah was stunned into silence. He looked down at his feet. "Ice's heart belongs utterly to Raziel. She is merely acting as my guide here. She is teaching me how to live in your world, with all its limitations..." His voice trailed off. He took one hesitant step toward me, then another.

Instinctively, I backed away.

"I have always been drawn to you, Amara. I do not know why." He reached out and gently touched my hair with his fingertips.

"Please don't touch me, Dumah. Please." I shrank away from his touch as he reached for my hair again. I could not, _would _not let myself trust him completely. I would not allow myself to be drawn in by his hypnotic, violet eyes.

"I know you feel it, too," he breathed.

The front door opened with a squeak and Dumah straightened. He peeked into the living room to see who had come in.

"Ice is home," Dumah said gently. "You should finish your coffee before it gets cold."


	8. Chapter VI

**CHAPTER VI**

**A/N: Here's a shoutout to all my reviewers! You guys rock! I'm super flattered that you guys like my work! Part of this chapter is inspired by some lovely fanart that ASmilingMalice over at dA made for me. Check it out: .com/art/Dumah-Hates-Twilight-118096358**

**

* * *

  
**

Ice walked in, carrying a large, brown paper bag. She smiled broadly and walked into the kitchen, where she set the bag down on the table.

"Dumah, stop teasing Am—oh my God, what on Earth did you do with your hair, Amara?"

"Cut it," I said innocently, taking a sip of my coffee. Oh, what a glorious thing coffee is! Dumah took this opportunity to give Ice a cordial smile and walk out of the kitchen. He went downstairs, to his room.

"I can _see _that," Ice said, too shocked by my new haircut to pay Dumah any attention. "Don't get me wrong. It's extremely cool. I love the pink and blue streaks. I'm just...surprised. What does Alex think about it?"

"Oh, well. He dumped me today, soo..."

"So you cut and dyed your hair?" Ice asked. I nodded.

"Can I ask what happened?

"  
I sighed. This again. I was completely and totally mortified that Alex had left me for a man, and I wasn't sure what Ice would say. But I took a deep breath and told her about it anyway. She was quiet for a long time after I finished telling her about why Alex and I had broken up.

"Another man, eh?" she finally said. "That dirtbag."

"He couldn't have known," I said, weakly.

"He broke up with you over the phone!" Ice groaned. "Don't defend him. He's a tool. Pity. I really wanted to like him, too."

I opened my mouth to retort, thought better of it, and decided to change the subject altogether. "What's in the bag?"

"Booze." Ice answered.

"Oh. What for?"  
"Your birthday party." Ice answered. She grinned and took the bag to her room. "Don't even think of peeking."

Just then, Rupali and Dumah climbed up the stairs.

"You're home!" Rupali said. "Where'd you go?"

"Liquor store." Ice said coyly.

"Oh...." Rupali smiled knowingly.

"So what are you up to?" Ice asked Rupali.

"Well. I'm going to go get some coffee with Sawyer..." Rupali let her voice trail off and came very close to me. "Your vampire boytoy is going to see that lame-ass sparklepire movie. You should save him," she whispered, ignoring the glare I gave her when she referred to Dumah as my boytoy. I looked from Dumah to Rupali and back again. Then I leaned very close to Rupali's ear.

"Fuck that. Let him suffer," I whispered back, with a sly smile in Dumah's direction. Out loud, I said "No, I think I'll stay home. Maybe do some cleaning."

"You _are _aware that I can hear virtually every word you just said to each other, aren't you?" asked Dumah. Rupali whipped around to face him and clapped her hand over her mouth. She winced when her hand hit her lip piercings. "Ow! Oh. Well, Amara's going to stay home and I have a date, so bye!" Rupali quickly grabbed a light jacket and rushed out of the house, with her purple dreads swinging behind her. Dumah watched her leave, then sighed and shook his head.

"You're sure you don't want to come?" Dumah asked. He grinned wickedly. "Isn't going to the movies together one of your world's customs? We could sit in the back row and--"

"I'm sure," I interrupted, "Have fun, Dumah." I pushed him toward the door and waved. "Hurry! You don't want to be late!"  
With one last frustrated look at me, Dumah walked out the door. I flopped onto the couch and sighed deeply.

Time for some peace and quiet.


	9. Chapter VII

**CHAPTER VII**

**A/N: Hey y'all. I've been having a hard time with the document manager here on . Hopefully, it's fixed now!**

_Dumah stared in wide-eyed shock at the movie he'd gone to see. He was completely horrified by it. At first, when the vampire in the film had said "the lion fell in love with the lamb", he had been mildly amused. And when the vampire family in the film had claimed to be "vegetarian vampires", Dumah was perplexed. But what had really offended him was the scene where the young male vampire had taken off his shirt and stepped into the sunlight._

_Dumah had looked forward to this scene, hoping to see a dramatic suicide scene. But, instead of bursting into flames or dying the slow, agonizing death that had claimed so many of Dumah's own fledglings, the vampire in the film had....sparkled. Like there were diamonds under his skin or something._

__

Disgusted, Dumah stood up and stormed out of the theatre. He was aware of the eyes of dozens of adolescent girls on him. One of them stood up and followed him as he made his exit. He walked faster, hoping to evade her. To his dismay, he heard the girl start to walk faster, too. Frustrated, he stopped and turned around.

"What do you want, girl?" he snarled, using his most threatening tone of voice. He had never borne any love for humans, and, with the exception of Amara (and possibly Rupali), he especially loathed the self-indulgent, self-important humans of this world.

The girl shrank back, then straightened. She was a very short, very plain girl with glasses and short, wavy auburn hair. She was a little chubby. Dumah would have guessed her to be about nineteen years old. Too old for that ridiculous movie by all accounts.

"You...you're one of them, aren't you?" she said.  
"One of what_?" Dumah growled._

__

"A vampire," she said quietly. "But...how come you don't sparkle?"

Dumah couldn't help himself. He hated humans, he hated this world, and he especially hated sparkling vampires!

In one swift motion, he grabbed the girl, snapped her neck, and buried his fangs in her throat, letting the fresh, warm blood flow into his mouth. He could have died from the sheer pleasure of it. He had spent too many weeks drinking chilled blood with Ice. He'd forgotten about the thrill of the hunt. How had this world's vampires allowed themselves to become so CIVILIZED? Dumah thought that the vampires ought to take their place as the rulers of this world!

A shot cracked the air and Dumah felt a brief, sharp pain in his shoulder. He looked up and saw a man in a blue uniform aiming a pistol at him. Dumah narrowed his eyes. How dare that impudent mortal interrupt his feeding!

The man shot again, and Dumah easily dodged it. Then he dropped the girl's body, and, with an animalistic howl, leapt at the man with the gun.

"Hey, Amara, where's Dumah?" Ice asked about three hours after he left. "That movie should be over now, shouldn't it?"

I looked up from the plate I was washing and shrugged. "Dunno." Without another word, I went back to washing the dishes. But something definitely didn't feel right. Dumah typically never ventured out without Ice or Rupali. When he did, he always came straight back.

"You don't think he's gotten into any trouble, do you?" I asked Ice. She shook her head and brushed a few golden strands of hair out of her face.  
"He can take care of himself." With that, Ice walked into the living room and switched the TV back on.

"This is Nancy Butz with KMQX-TV, here in Butte Falls. We have a report of a double-murder downtown, near the movie theatre. The victims are 19-year old Amadea Franz and 38 year-old Robert Downs, a local police officer. We have an eyewitness report here..."

Now that was intriguing. Butte Falls is a small town. Double murders don't happen often. I strained to listen to the news report.

"Like, this guy was talking to that mousey girl. He was hot. Like, omigod! Really hot! With this long black hair...he looked kinda like one of those Gothy types, yanno? Anyway, he was talking to her and then he just flipped sh--" Here, the interview was cut off by a short, shrill beep, "Oh, oopsies! I'll watch my language! Anyway, he just reached over and broke the poor girl's neck, and that cop guy across the street saw what was going on and started shooting at the hot crazy killer guy, and, like, the killer guy jumped at the cop and, like, tore out his trachea. Or something. Except there's no blood. Anywhere. Fu--" There was another beep, but the witness went on talking, "Scary!"

I dropped the plate I was washing. Ice swore and turned off the TV.

"We have to find him!" she said. "Before...before _they_ do!"

"Ice, the cops _are _going to find him. He stands out in a crowd. And if you think I'm going to let you harbor a fugitive..."

Ice shook her head. "The cops? Who gives a shit about them? They're the least of Dumah's worries."

"Not if they catch him!" I countered.

"_They'll_ get there before the cops will. Come on, Amara, _let's go!_" Ice's gray-blue eyes flashed.

I shook my head. "He'll come back."

"Not if _they_ find him."

"Ice," I said slowly, trying to hide the fact that I no longer had any patience, "Who the _fuck _is this enigmatic _THEY _you're so worried about?"

"The local chapter of the International Council of Elder Vampires," Ice said, evenly.

I groaned and threw my hands up in the air. Vampires! Everywhere!

"He broke the law, let him deal with it," I said. Ice only smiled and shook her head.

"It isn't that simple. I really, really don't want to have to explain to them about why Dumah doesn't know our laws. There's not even any guarantee that they'd believe me. Look, they'll put a stake in his heart. Or throw him into a river. Or bury him alive. We _have _to find him."

Loathe as I was to admit it, I was growing fond of Dumah, and, furthermore, no one was going to put a stake in his heart unless it was _me, _dammit!

"So, you'll help me find him, right?" Ice asked.

"Absolutely."

* * *


	10. Chapter VIII

**CHAPTER VIII**

Ice insisted that we drive to the coffee shop where Rupali was hanging out with Sawyer. "The more of us that are looking for him, the better his chances will be," she explained. I drove much faster than I probably should have, and did a terrible, terrible job parking in front of the coffee shop. The coffee shop itself, called the Grand News Cafe, was in an old building that had once housed a bank. Inside it was the kind of kitschy-cool place that college students flocked to, with antique posters and movie memorabilia as far as the eye could see.

Rupali and Sawyer were sitting at a table in the corner, and they were deep in conversation. I didn't want to bother them, but before I could tell Ice that maybe we should leave, she strode up to the table and leaned on it. Sawyer scowled. Ruplai looked concerned. I stood behind Ice and tried to look apologetic.

"Shit, did the house burn down?" Rupali asked. She tossed her purple hair and took a long swig of coffee.

"Um, not exactly," I said slowly.

"Did you hear about the double murder?" Ice asked. Rupali and Sawyer looked at each other and shook their heads.

"What happened?" Sawyer asked. He reached back to tighten the ponytail he was keeping his long, black hair in.

"Well," Ice said, leaning in even closer. She lowered her voice. "Dumah killed a girl. And a cop. And he's probably still on a rampage."

Rupali almost dropped her coffee cup. "_What_?" She looked at me for verification. I nodded.

"We have to find him," I said flatly, "Before the local chapter of the Council of Elder Vampires finds him and stakes him."

"I figured you'd be pretty happy with someone staking him, Amara..." Rupali mumbled.

"Hey!" I snapped, "No one gets to stake Dumah but me!"

Rupali and Ice shared a look. Rupali burst into laughter. Ice grinned.

"Dumah would like to stake _you, _if you catch my drift," Rupali said. Her shoulders shook from laughter. I sighed, even as my face started to feel warm—a sure sign of a blush.

"Now wait a minute," Sawyer interjected. "You're telling me that that weirdo Dumah is a vampire, and that he flipped out and killed people, and you're trying to _save _him?"

"That's the long and short of it, yes," Ice affirmed.

"Just let the vampire cops get him," Sawyer sighed.

"We can't!" I said before I could stop myself, "He doesn't quite understand the way things work in this world!"

One of Sawyer's eyebrows arched. His blue eyes narrowed. "_This world_? What is he, some kind of space vampire?"

"We'll explain later," Ice groaned, shooting me a dirty look. "Please, please come with us!"

Rupali smirked and stood up to join us. Sawyer groaned. Rupali smiled. "Come on, Sawyer, it'll be fun!"

Sawyer shook his head even as he stood up to join us. "Yeah. Like a root canal is fun," he muttered.

We piled into the car and drove to the place a vampire was most likely to go if he were thirsty and upset: the blood bank.

"Right," Ice said as we climbed out, "We need to split up."

"You know, splitting up gets people killed in vampire movies," Sawyer pointed out. We were all quiet for a moment.

"This isn't a movie," Rupali finally said, "It's like, real life and shit."

"We're not going to argue," Ice said evenly. "Amara, you check that alley," she gestured toward an alley that was already dark in the late afternoon light, "Sawyer, check the lobby. Rupali, check out the parking lot

."  
"So what are you going to do?" asked Sawyer.

"I'm going in through the vampire's entrance," said Ice. When we all stared at her, she shrugged. "You know, the back. Hurry, we don't have any time to lose."

I nodded and hurried into the alley. While there are not very many sketchy places in Butte Falls, this alley was certainly one of them. I kept my head straight up and my fists clenched.

"Dumah...?" I called nervously to the darkness. I heard footsteps somewhere behind me. As I stepped backwards to turn around, someone clamped a hand over my mouth and dragged me behind a dumpster.

"Shh," said an unfamiliar, male voice, "You'll catch his attention." He moved the hand from my mouth and I turned around to look at him. Useless, really. I couldn't see in the dark.

"Who the _hell _are you?" I whispered.

"It's better that you don't know," he replied. "You should get out of here. There's a killer in this alley."

"Would he happen to be a _vampire?_" I blurted out before I could stop myself. The man started, then lowered his gaze. "How did you know about that?"

"None of your business," I snapped. I stood up and started to walk out from behind the dumpster. "Dumah! Where are you?"

The man grabbed me again and slammed me against the wall. He easily grabbed both my wrists with one hand and pinned my hands above my head.

"He violated the code, you know. He has to be stopped."

He moved his face close to my ear. "If you stand in my way, I'll kill you, too."

I tried to free my hands from his grip. But he was strong, almost inhumanly so. It dawned on me then.

"You...you're one of them, too," I breathed.

"A very old one of them," he replied. I tried again to free myself and couldn't.

"Dumah, if you can hear me," I shouted, "_Help!_"

The man leaned back without releasing me. "Who is this person you're calling? The rogue vampire? Or someone else...?"

At that moment, someone grabbed the man from behind by his hair and yanked him away from me. The man didn't let go of my wrists at first, and so I was dragged away from the wall. I fell face first onto the ground, but I didn't care. I was glad to be free. I slowly stood up and looked at the figure towering over me.

"Dumah...?"

He nodded.

I cautiously extended a hand toward him. "Let's go home."


	11. Chapter IX

**CHAPTER IX**

**A/N: I want to thank everyone who reads this and likes it, even if you don't review! I appreciate the fact that you enjoy these stories. You all rock!**

"Let's go home."

At those words, the corners of Dumah's mouth turned up slightly. His face and clothes were smeared with blood. If there had been more light in the alley, I might have noticed that his usually-pale cheeks were flushed red. There was a mad glimmer in his violet eyes that I had never seen before. His black hair, which he usually tied back, was a tangled mess. He looked every bit like the dangerous predator he was. I had never seen him like that, not even in Nosgoth. I fought my instinct to step away from him. He could kill me at any moment.

I was about to pull my hand away when he grasped it. His hand was warmer than usual.

"What happened?" I asked, "I mean, why did you go on a rampage like that?"

"I just couldn't take living in your world with all its ridiculous _rules _anymore," Dumah said. He sounded half-drunk. "I don't understand why vampires don't take their place as the rightful rulers of this world."

"Maybe they don't want to," I said, trying to sound last thing I wanted was for Dumah to turn on me. He frowned.  
"I wonder why..."

"I...I don't know. Let's go. Ice is waiting. She can explain better."

Dumah nodded. "Where is she?"

"Just around the corner. At the blood bank."

Without another word, Dumah started dragging me out of the alley. Just then, two shots pierced the air. Dumah winced and grabbed his shoulder with his free hand. I, meanwhile, stopped in my tracks. I felt a sharp, stinging pain in my back, just under my ribs. It was like I'd been kicked by a horse. I let go of Dumah's hand and slowly turned around. The Elder Vampire that had been looking for Dumah had gotten back on his feet. He was stranding at the other end of the alley, and he was holding a pistol. The world spun once and I fell to the ground in a heap. I saw Dumah standing over me for a minute, then he started running toward the other vampire. I heard another shot, and a man's scream.

_Oh no...Dumah..._

Then everything went black. One of my last thoughts was something along the lines of how ironic it was that after months of trying not to get killed by a vampire, one managed to kill me anyway.

For a while, everything was dark, and then I had a strange dream.

_There was a black bird with Dumah's voice sitting across from me at a long table. He pushed a glass of wine toward me with his wing. "Drink," he commanded. I shook my head. The Dumah bird lowered his head and flew toward me. He took the glass in his talons and pushed it to my lips. I had no choice but to drink the wine, which was terribly bitter._

Then I was flying next to a flock of birds that had Ice, Sawyer, and Rupali's voices, all talking about me in hushed, worried tones.

"So she'll be okay?" asked the Ice-bird.

"What happened?" asked the Sawyer-bird.

"She was shot once in the back with a silver bullet," said an unfamiliar, male voice. "It's good that you brought her here as soon as you did. Do you know who shot her?"

"No," answered the Ice-bird.

I could hear a faint, steady beep in the background. And then I wondered if I was alive after all, so I tried opening my eyes.

I was laying in a sterile, white hospital room, with IV needles in my arms. Standing around me were Ice, Rupali, and Sawyer, as well as a man in a white coat who must have been a doctor.

"Oh, she's awake," said Rupali. She smiled, a tired, relieved smile.

"Yeah, I'm awake," I replied. My sounded thick and foreign to me. The doctors must have given me something for the pain.

"What happened?" Sawyer asked. He looked concerned, which surprised me. Nothing ever worried Sawyer.

I looked at the doctor, then back at Sawyer. "Can you make him leave?"

The doctor smiled and approached my bed. "I'm glad you're awake. I need to ask you what happened..."

"Not now," I groaned. "Please, I need time with...with my friends."

The doctor nodded. "Okay. But I have some questions for you, too."

I nodded. "Thank you."

We watched in silence as the doctor left the room. Then Ice turned her attention to me. Her wavy gold-blonde hair was falling out of its ponytail. She looked wearier than usual.

"What happened after he shot me?" I asked her.

"After who shot you?" asked Rupali.

"The...the Elder Vampire Guy," I answered. I wondered, briefly, what his name was. _Oh yeah. He never told me his name. _

"Dumah carried you to the car," Ice replied, "And you know, it was weird...you were bleeding really bad when he brought you to the car, but then it...stopped. We still had to bring you here though, because you lost a lot of blood..."

My eyes widened as I remembered the dream I had of the Dumah-bird making me drink a glass of wine. Was that real? Did Dumah make me drink his blood? And furthermore, wouldn't my drinking his blood turn _me _into a vampire? I quickly ran my tongue over my teeth. There didn't seem to be any difference.

"So...so Dumah's okay?"

Ice nodded. "Yeah. I feel sorry for the other guy, though."

"Where's Dumah? I need to see him!"

"He's being treated," said Rupali. "He was shot in the shoulder. I don't think they've let him out yet."

I slumped back on my pillow. "Oh. Okay. They probably want me to stay overnight, huh?"

Sawyer shook his head. "I don't think so. You've been here for a few hours..."

The doctor walked back in then, followed by a police officer. I groaned. This was the same cop who had come to my house the night that Dumah had arrived. He looked at Rupali, Ice, and Sawyer and politely asked them to leave. When they had gone, he took a seat next to me. "Miss Dolan," he said, "You have a knack for being attacked. Would you like to tell me what happened?"

"Someone shot me," I said, lamely.

"Well, yes, obviously. Did you see them?"

"Officer, with all due respect, I was shot in the _back_. I didn't see anything."

The cop blinked and stroked his mustache. "Oh. Well, the man who carried you to the car was shot, also..."

"In the back," I said, "We were walking out of that alley by the blood bank together when we were shot."

The cop nodded. "Okay. Your friend was shot twice. Once in the shoulderblade and once in the chest."

"I was shot first. He must have been shot again when he turned around."

The cop nodded again. "He says the shooter ran and that he was more concerned about you than catching the shooter."

I shrugged. "It could have happened that way. I passed out right after I was shot."

"Do you want to press charges if we catch the shooter?"

I shook my head. I knew that they'd never catch him. The cop waited for me to speak, then left. Then the doctor looked at me. He stepped close to my bed and leaned over me. It was the first time I'd been able to get a clear look at him. He had black hair and a familiar face. His eyes were violet.

"D-Dumah?" I whispered. In response, the doctor seemed to warp before my eyes. He grew taller and paler, and his hair grew longer. After a few minutes, it wasn't a handsome, mysterious doctor standing in front of me, but Dumah.

"I thought your powers didn't work here," I breathed.

"This one does," he said with a shrug. "The Veil must be thinning. I tried this earlier after I attacked that girl and that policeman and I couldn't. But just now..." he shrugged. "It doesn't last for very long, though."

He smiled.

"I-I...did you make me drink your blood?"

Dumah nodded. "I had to. You might have died."

"Is it...is going to make me a-"

Dumah put a finger to my lips. "Shh. No. I didn't give you enough of my blood for that. Just enough to stop the bleeding. And anyway, you have to be dead to be turned, at least in Nosgoth..." He moved his finger away from my lips and gently cupped my face with his hand.

"Why did you save me?"

Dumah's face softened. "I had to. I don't know why. It just had to be done."

"Well...well thank you," I said slowly.

Dumah's response was to lean in close and press his lips against mine.


	12. Chapter X

**CHAPTER X**

**A/N: Sorry for the short chapter! Please review anyway!**

I feebly tried to push Dumah away from me but whatever meds the doctors had given me made my arms feel like lead weights. I could barely lift them. Eventually, though, Dumah moved away from me.

"You shouldn't have done that," I said numbly, "You were taking advantage."

Dumah shrugged. "You liked it." His tone was self-assured, cocky, even. If I hadn't have been so doped up, I would have hit him.

"This isn't Nosgoth," I protested, "You can't just take what you want. Whether I liked it or not is irrelevant. You just...don't..." My voice trailed away into a thin whisper.

Dumah shrugged again. "You still liked it."

I groaned and closed my eyes.

Two hours later, I was officially released from the hospital.

When I got home, the first thing I did was start running a bath. I put in some bubble bath. After a day like what I'd had, there was nothing I wanted more than to relax in the bath. While I was waiting for the tub to fill up, I ran over to my room, undressed, and threw on my robe.

When I got back to the bathroom, someone had shut off the tub. There were clothes folded up on the sink, and a strange device which looked a bit like an oversized brass pocket watch was sitting on top of the clothes. I picked up the object and started slowly turning it in my hands. "What does this do?"

I heard a loud splash as a naked man jumped out of the tub and stood in front of me. He was covered in bubbles. Even his face was covered in bubbles. I screamed. He reached for me "Don't touch that! If you break it I'll--" He stopped talking. Then he wiped the bubbles off of his face.

"Well, I'll be. Amara, is that you?"

I recognized him then. My knees suddenly felt like Jello and the man quickly caught me before I fell and cracked my head open on the sink.

"Amara, you remember me, don't you? It's Rahab..."

"Yeah, I remember you," I whimpered. "You're naked, please let go of me."

The door opened just then and Dumah poked his head in. "I heard you screaming, Amara. Is everything--" His eyes narrowed. "Rahab." I realized that what was going on now must have looked...well, bad, considering that Rahab was naked and I was only wearing my robe. I recognized the icy note in Dumah's voice. He was displeased, and, theoretically, violence could ensue at any moment.

"This isn't what it looks like," I said, hoping to stop any violent outbursts that might result. "He hijacked my bubble bath and when I was about to touch his watch-thing he jumped out and I almost fainted..."

Dumah crossed his arms. "Watch-thing?"

Rahab coolly made sure I was safely on my feet and turned to face Dumah. I quickly averted my eyes.

"My Astrolabe," Rahab said gently. "It's a device which calculates where tears in the Veil between Nosgoth and this place will open and how long they will be open for." He walked over to me and plucked it out of my hands. I kept my eyes squeezed shut.

"Oh, don't be so shy, Amara," Rahab said in a mocking tone, "I'm sure this isn't the first time you've seen a naked man." Then he started laughing."But maybe this is the first time that you've seen the perfect male form, in which case I think you should feast your eyes."

I groaned and pushed my way past Rahab and Dumah. "I think I'll just wait for you to work out your differences..."

I left the bathroom and went back toward my room. On the way I noticed a strange man sitting at the kitchen table with Ice and Rupali. He turned to look at me and my heart stopped. Raziel.

"Hey, I heard you screaming, are you okay?" Ice looked worried.

I nodded. "Yeah, Rahab just surprised me when he jumped out of the bath. He was all naked and scary and..."

Raziel nodded. "I don't blame you for screaming," he said with a wry smile.

There was another shriek from the bathroom, and Rahab ran out of the bathroom. He was still naked.

"Raziel...Raziel! I miscalculated the length of time the tear in the Veil was going to be open for!"

Raziel crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. "What are you saying, Rahab?"

"I'm saying," Rahab said slowly, "That because of my miscalculation we are, in laymen's terms...stuck."


	13. Chapter XI

**CHAPTER XI**

**A/N: Hooray for public libraries! This chapter also marks my eighth anniversary here at ! YAY! I'd like to give a big thank you to my readers, to each and every one of you who's read my work over the last eight years. You are all awesome. **

We all stood around the kitchen table, staring at Rahab. Dumah's face was stony. I couldn't read it. Rahab looked both apologetic and horrified, as though the possibility that he could have inadvertently trapped his brothers in a world full of mortals had sunk in. He was still soaking wet, and I was annoyed that I'd probably be the one stuck with cleaning up the puddle he was standing in. Ice looked puzzled as well. She'd left her wavy blond hair out of its usual ponytail.

I had never seen Raziel look anything other than confident before, so seeing him look dumbfounded was a small surprise. He gaped at Rahab for a few minutes, opened his mouth to speak, and sighed instead. Finally, he spoke. "We're...stuck?"

Rahab nodded. "I'm afraid so, but, fortunately, the Astrolabe works on both sides of the Veil so I'll just keep--"

Rahab's voice was cut off as Raziel calmly stood up, walked over to him, and punched him square in the face. Rahab fell to the ground and glared up at his older brother.

"You _idiot,_" Raziel hissed, "We could have taken Dumah and Ice back by now but _you _had to dally in that damned bath!"

Rahab slowly stood up. He didn't seem to be at all bothered by the fact that Raziel had just hit him. "As I said before, I miscalculated. The Veil may have closed before we even located Dumah."

"It was still open when we arrived here," Raziel spat.

"Well, now it isn't, and there's no sense attacking me for it. _I _don't control the Veil." Rahab crossed his arms and set his jaw.

"So, so wait..." I said, looking at Raziel, "You were going to take Dumah and Ice back to Nosgoth? Why Ice?"

"Kain's orders," Raziel said plainly. "She doesn't belong here, anyway. She belongs with us."

Ice looked confused, too. "Wait, wait..._Kain's_ orders?" Her blue eyes clouded. She looked more concerned than I've seen her look in a long time.

Raziel looked back at Ice. "Well, yes. He...doesn't think you belong here. And you don't. You're one of us now."

"But I was born here," Ice protested, "This world is my home."

"Your first home," Raziel countered, "You could learn to have another one." He looked at Ice with such an expression of longing that I felt a pang of jealousy. It wasn't because I wanted Raziel--far from it! I did, however, want someone to care for me that much. What person doesn't?

Everyone was quiet for a moment. But only for a moment.

"Oooh, who is THAT?" squealed Rupali. We all turned to look at her. She was standing at the top of the stairs, and she was staring right at Rahab. Rahab grinned, and immediately reverted to his old self. "My, my," he said as he walked toward Rupali, "You have such...interesting features." Although Rahab's back was to us, we all knew he was talking about Rupali's dark skin, purple dreadlocks, and abundance of tattoos and piercings. There was no doubt in my mind that Rahab had seen anyone who looked like Rupali before.

Raziel and Dumah exchanged a knowing glance. Ice was giggling. So was Rupali.

"What's your name, handsome?" Rupali's voice had become almost nauseatingly girlish.

Now Ice and I exchanged a knowing glance. Rupali the flirt had certainly met her match in Rahab.

"I am called Rahab. And by what name do mortals call you?"

"I'm gonna be sick," I groaned. I turned around and walked back to my room. I didn't realize that Dumah had followed me until I was about to close the door behind me.

"What do _you _want?" I asked. My voice came out sounding a bit sharper than I meant for it to be.

"To get away from...well, I couldn't stand it, either," Dumah said flatly. "Ugh. He's such a--" Dumah crossed his arms and didn't say anything else.

"Are you jealous?" I teased.

Dumah snorted. "Of course not."

"You seemed pretty jealous earlier, when Rahab was helping me--"

"Don't be ridiculous, Amara," Dumah growled. "Jealous of what? A flirtatious would-be intellectual and a slip of a girl?" His violet eyes hardened. Clearly, I'd touched a nerve. I smiled slightly.

"Well then," Dumah said, "I guess I'll go to my room." With that, he slowly turned around and opened the door.

My face fell. What? He couldn't go! How was I going to tease him if he wasn't there?

"Dumah, wait!"

He turned around. "What?"

"I...I wanted to apologize. For teasing you about Rahab just now."

His eyes widened, only for a minute, and then he nodded. "Very well. Apology accepted."

Then he left anyway.

I groaned and flopped down on my bed. Why did I want him around anyway? He'd saved my life, but that hardly made up for what he'd done before. I noticed I was still in my robe and I decided to get dressed. While I was picking out clothes from my closet and dressing myself, my brain refused to be quiet.

_Maybe I should let it go. Maybe I should open myself up to him a little more. I mean, he hasn't done anything that I should hate him for. Well, except for killing those people..._

I groaned. There is nothing more difficult to forgive someone for than breaching your trust. Especially when that breach of trust involved the death (and vampiric resurrection) of my best friend and my imprisonment. I'd read somewhere, though, that resentment causes cancer. And I was willing to bet that my conflicting feelings for Dumah, my wanting to like him and maybe even love him on the one hand, and my bitter resentment on the other were probably unhealthy as well.

As I pulled a simple blue sweater over my head, I resolved to finally forgive Dumah for what he'd done five years ago.

Whatever happened after that would be up to Fate.


	14. Chapter XII

**CHAPTER XII**

I walked through the kitchen and went downstairs to Dumah's room. The door was closed, which wasn't unusual.

What was unusual, though, was the amount of noise coming from the other side of the door.

"I _refuse _to share a room with you!" Dumah didn't sound pleased.

"Well, _I _refuse to sleep on the couch! I need some measure of privacy, brother!" The other man in the room sounded like Rahab.

"At the price of my privacy? I think not." Dumah's voice took on a low, warning tone.

I knew Rahab wasn't stupid. Flirtatious, yes, but stupid, no. He wouldn't try to press on with Dumah talking to him in that tone of voice. I quickly stepped away from the door in anticipation of Rahab's exit.

"I think there's someone listening outside," Rahab said suddenly. "Of course, with your brutish behavior I'm not surprised that you attracted attention..."

I heard a sudden, sharp thud and a short cry.

"Too slow, brother," taunted Rahab's voice. "Next time, maybe."

The door to Dumah's room opened, and Rahab found me standing just outside. He closed the door behind him and crossed his arms.

"Were you eavesdropping?" he asked, curtly. He was dressed now (something for which I was deeply grateful), wearing a pair of slacks and a long-sleeved shirt. His almost waist-length black hair was still wet and he hadn't bothered to do much else with it besides comb it. He looked very serious, and almost angry. I'd never seen him look that way before. My stomach tied itself into knots. Rahab wouldn't try to hurt me, would he?

"I...I was coming to talk to Dumah," I said slowly. "I just overheard...I'm sorry if you thought--"

"When you heard us arguing, you could have left," Rahab pointed out. His features softened, somewhat, but his aquamarine eyes remained icy.  
"You're right," I conceded, "But I guess my curiosity got the better of me."

The corners of Rahab's mouth turned up ever so slightly. "See that it doesn't in the future. I dislike my personal affairs being public knowledge."  
I nodded. "Of course, Rahab. I didn't mean for you to think I had intruded." Months of living with Dumah had taught me to be at least a little bit submissive toward any vampire who might wander in. Even if that were not the case, I could certainly appreciate Rahab's desire for privacy.  
He smiled and reverted back to his old self at once. "Well, then, now that that's settled...why not talk to me in _your _room?"

When my response was to roll my eyes, Rahab laughed softly. "No? Well, your loss, then." He left the room, deliberately brushing against me as he left.

After he left, I knocked on Dumah's door.

"Enter," he said gruffly.

I opened the door and peeked in. Dumah was sitting on the bed, holding his right hand. I walked in and found a hole in the wall next to the door.  
"Are you okay?" I asked. He shrugged. He looked agitated. He'd taken his hair out of its ponytail and it hung loosely about his shoulders. I walked over to his bed and sat down beside him. "Let me see it."

"It's already healing," he mumbled. "I'll be fine."

Without thinking, I reached for his hand. He flinched.

"I'm sorry, did I hurt you?"

Dumah shook his head. "It's fine." He turned his head, so that he was looking directly at me. My breath caught in my throat. I have always found Dumah attractive (loathe as I am to admit it), and now, with Dumah looking fatigued and even vulnerable, I thought he looked more handsome than he ever had before.

"Why are you here?" he said.

"I...I wanted to forgive you."

"For what?" Dumah looked curious. "If it was about breaking your favorite shot glass, then I would like to apologize again. I didn't know you were the sort to hold a grudge."

I laughed. "It isn't that."

"Then what is it?" He looked confused.

I looked Dumah right in the eyes. "That time all those years ago. When you betrayed me and handed me over to Kain."

Dumah looked away from me. "Ah. That unfortunate incident. I will not apologize for following my orders."

"I wouldn't expect you to," I said. "But..."

"It must have hurt you deeply," Dumah said softly.

"It did," I affirmed.

"I can't imagine that you could ever forgive me for that." His voice was completely neutral. I couldn't read any emotion from it.

"I have to," I blurted out, "Holding a grudge is unhealthy. And...I want to let myself like you, but as long as I keep not forgiving you...I can't."

Dumah looked back at me. His mouth was slightly open. "You're always so cold to me."

I sighed. He was right. I was cold, but why...?

"I was afraid if I let you get close to me, that you'd...hurt me again."

"I'd say the tables are turned now, wouldn't you?" Dumah said.

I nodded. My hand was still on his, I realized, but I couldn't be bothered to move it. My heart was racing. Was I nervous? Why?

"Maybe we could...start over," I said, slowly. My grip on his hand tensed.

"Careful," Dumah whispered. He moved closer to me.

"That's right...your hand," I said, lamely.

"It doesn't hurt," Dumah assured me. His other hand gently cupped my face. He gently traced my cheekbone with my thumb.

I felt my heart thumping in my chest, like it was trying to make an escape.

Dumah started laughing. "I can hear your heart beating. Why are you so afraid?"

"I'm not afraid," I whispered.

The corners of Dumah's mouth turned up. "Oh?"

I bit my lip and looked down. Dumah gently tipped my face up.

"Look at me," he breathed. I obeyed.

Before I could say or do anything else, he covered my mouth with his. He pressed me close to him. I didn't resist this time, instead I wrapped my arms around his neck. Dumah broke off the kiss and began tracking kisses along my throat. His hands wandered down to the small of my back, and then to my chest. Desire welled up in me. I wanted nothing more than to give myself to him completely, but...

"Stop," I gasped.

"Stop?" Dumah repeated.

"We...not now," I sighed.

Reluctantly, Dumah moved away from me.

"So...so now what?" I asked.

Dumah shrugged. "Who knows?"


	15. Chapter XIII

**CHAPTER XIII**

I left Dumah's room that evening and we spent the next few days being distant toward each other. I still had extremely mixed feelings about Dumah and I had no way of knowing what Dumah thought of the whole thing.

That all changed on the night of my twenty-first birthday. The day itself had been fairly uneventful. But once the party started...

Ice had mixed most of the drinks prior to the party so that no one would have to mix drinks all night. I was currently holding a lethal-looking neon orange drink which one of the guests, a saxophone player I met just once before, had informed me was called an "Alabama Slammer".

"It's amazing. You should try it."

I stared at the drink in my hand. It looked radioactive.

"You haven't had a lot to drink. I mean, it's your birthday. You're not supposed to remember this night."

"Says who?" I muttered, taking a sip of the drink. It was not as bad as I thought it would be. It was strong though.

The sax player smiled. "See?"

I nodded and finished the drink. _Wow, it was strong._ I looked around, to get an idea of what everyone was up to. Ice had put on some jazz music and most of our guests were dancing in the living room. Ice and Raziel were sitting on a sofa in the living room, Rupali and Sawyer were dancing, Rahab was in the corner surrounded by a group of emo girls I had never seen before, and Dumah...was nowhere in sight. I walked back into the kitchen and refilled my glass. That Dumah was nowhere to be seen worried me. After all, the last time he'd gone off on his own he'd ended up on a killing spree. I downed my drink in one long gulp, set down my glass, and wandered into the living room.

Someone pulled me into a dance and I looked up. It was a friend of Rupali's, a boy with a mohawk whose name I didn't recall.

"So I heard you're single now."

"Well.." before I could finish, he cut me off.

"So what are you doing later?"

I didn't like that he was so close to me.

"Um, probably going to bed," I mumbled. I tried to push away from him, but he held on.

"Yeah? Where's your room?"

I managed to push him away this time and I started to leave the room, but he still followed me.

"Hey, you're not being fair. I think you should give me a chance."

"I don't even know your name!" I snapped at him.

"Excuse me." Someone else pulled me to him, and I looked up to find Dumah looking down at the other boy with a look of annoyance.

"I would appreciate it," Dumah said slowly, "If you would leave her alone."

The boy with the mohawk opened his mouth, then walked away without another word.

Dumah looked down at me. "He didn't bother you too much, did he?"

I shook my head. "No. He was just.." I shrugged. "Would you like a drink?"

Dumah shook his head. "Let's dance instead."

I let him lead take my hand and lead me into the living room. He swept me into his arms and led me into some kind of exotic ballroom dance. He was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a skilled dancer. I looked around the living room and noticed that Rahab was now dancing with Rupali, and although he was barely touching her, he managed to be sensual and graceful. Dumah, on the other hand, was anything but graceful. He stepped on my toes several times and never apologized. After the ninth or tenth time he stepped on me, I pushed him away. "I think that's enough."

"Hm?"

"You're hurting my feet."

"You appear to be capable of walking." Dumah was smiling, clearly amused.

"Dancing isn't your strong suit," I said.

Dumah grinned and gently pulled me to him. "Would you prefer we dance...closer?"

"I don't think my feet can take any more dancing." I pushed him away again and started walking toward the kitchen. "I need another drink."

"Let me join you," Dumah purred. He followed me back to the kitchen and took a bottle of beer for himself, which he downed in one or two gulps. I took a beer, too, and slowly drank it.

"Isn't the point of this celebration for you to get as intoxicated as possible as quickly as possible?" Dumah asked. I shrugged.

"Not in the mood," I said.

Dumah nodded. "I see..." he said quietly. He gently traced my jawline with his thumb. His eyes met mine, and I felt myself being drawn in. Before I could speak, he pulled me into his arms and kissed me fiercely. He pressed my body against his, he held me so tightly that if I wanted to escape I could not have. He gently touched his lips to my neck, and then my collarbone.

"Let's...let's..." I let my thought trail off as Dumah kissed me again, deeper. _Let's what? Stop? But I don't want to..._

_Fortunately, Dumah began leading me to my room. We fell back onto my bed._

"Just tonight," Dumah whispered against my throat. He slid his hands under my shirt and started pulling it up over my head.  
"Just be mine tonight," Dumah repeated after he'd pulled off my shirt. He pressed his lips to the skin that wasn't covered by my bra.  
I inhaled sharply, pleasantly surprised by his touch. Dumah stopped and met my eyes. His violet eyes blazed.

"Should I...stop...?"

I shook my head. "No."

He moved up and pressed his lips against mine again, taking me into a long, passionate kiss.

"Let's go where the night leads us," he breathed.


	16. Chapter XIV

**CHAPTER XIV**

When I opened my eyes the next day, the first thing I was aware of was that it was midafternoon. I was also aware of being quite sore. And, most importantly, I was aware that someone was next to me.

I rolled over and looked at Dumah. His eyes were half open, and he smiled when his eyes met mine.

"You're finally awake." He stroked my cheek, gently pressed his lips to my forehead.

"You stayed. I thought..."

Dumah touched a finger to my lips. "Don't worry about it."

I started to sit up and felt a sharp pain on my neck, close to my shoulder. Without thinking, I touched it and felt a thin scab underneath my fingertips. I turned and glared at Dumah.

"Did you--"  
Dumah just grinned.

"You did, didn't you?"

"It was the heat of the moment," Dumah purred. "Forgive me." I flopped back down on the bed and groaned.

Dumah ran a finger along the wound, but said nothing.

"I'm going to go take a shower," I said. I slowly climbed out bed, wincing with every step. _Geez, how long were we at it?_

_I was annoyed that he'd bitten me. That wasn't going to turn me into a vampire, was it? I started running the shower. I'd worry about it later. I trusted Dumah to not turn me, and he __had _told the truth when I asked him if he'd bitten me.

The hot water soothed my sore muscles and I allowed myself to smile. Although I _was _bothered that Dumah had bitten me, last night had been fun.

Someone banged on the bathroom door.

"Ugh, who the fuck is in here?" Rupali was up, and her voice was as gravelly as a 40 year chain-smoker's. She'd clearly had entirely too much fun last night. I wondered if any of that fun had involved Rahab.

"It's me," I said.

"Well, uh, can I come in?" She retched. "Fuck, never mind!" I heard her stumble into the direction of the kitchen and more painful retching. I hoped she'd made it to the trash can. Or even the sink.

When I came out of the shower and into the living room about twenty minutes later, I saw Rupali and Rahab sitting next to each other on the couch, passing a blue glass pipe between them. I noticed that the living room smelled like burning rope, and that Rupali and Rahab were giggling.

Over nothing.

"Rupali, are you...?"

She burst into laughter. "Dude, I'm so high I'm on the fucking moon."

Then Rahab laughed."Ha, the moon."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, with your hangover?"

"Nothing takes the edge off a hangover like a wake and bake," Rupali drawled. She passed the pipe to Rahab. "Anyway, they don't have pot in that bizarro European country Rahab is from."

"It's wonderful," said Rahab after he'd taken a hit. "I've got to get some seeds. Will they grow in--"

"They'll totally grow in Visigoth," interrupted Rupali. "I'm pretty sure that pot grows, like, everywhere. Even in Antarctica."

"Nosgoth," Rahab corrected, "I'm from Nosgoth."

"That's what I said. Visigoth."

I shook my head and started to leave.

"Hey, wait," said Rupali. "Come smoke with us. We're just about to load another bowl."

"Well, I..."

Rupali made a ridiculous face. "Pleeease, Amara, please smoke with us!"

I couldn't say no.

An hour later I was laying flat on my back, staring up at the ceiling. There was something incredibly entertaining about it, but I couldn't put a finger on what it was. Rupali and Rahab were laying on the couch together. Rahab started laughing, and then Rupali started laughing...and then I started laughing.

Dumah, Ice, and Raziel came into the living room. Raziel made a noise of disgust and Dumah buried his face in his hands. Ice seemed to be amused but I couldn't tell from where I was lying. Also, the ceiling was far more interesting than Ice.

"Are you enjoying yourselves?" Raziel growled as he yanked Rahab off of the couch. He fell with a hard thud next to me. Rahab stood up and glared at his brother. "I _was._"

Rupali sat up. "Hey, bro, you don't have to throw Rahab around like that."

"Stay out of it," Raziel snapped. He shoved the Astrolabe into Rahab's hands.

"Interpret it. _Now._"

Rahab groaned and looked at the device. "There's...a tear in the Veil nearby. A quarter of a mile to the north." He handed the Astrolabe back to Raziel.

I stood up. "Wait, what? So are you leaving?"

"We need to investigate that tear," Raziel said.

Dumah looked at the concern in my eyes. "You can come with us," he said.

I nodded. "Okay."

Rupali jumped off the couch. "Hey! You're not going anywhere without me!"

Rahab turned around. "Rupali. We'll be back."

She pouted. "So I have to stay?"

Rahab smiled and tapped her nose with his forefinger. "Just wait here."

"Oh, fine."

We all piled into Ice's car and headed toward that tear in the Veil that the Astrolabe had detected.

Dumah and I sat in the back. I rested my head on Dumah's shoulder and Dumah's arm was around my shoulder. I felt a curious sense of deja vu, as though there was a time that Dumah and I had been about to be seperated before. And I felt a deep sense of loss, even though he wasn't gone yet.

_Always fated..._ said a voice in my head. It was not a voice that I recognized.

"Always fated...what?" I said.

"Hm?" Dumah looked at me.

"It's nothing," I said. Dumah gently caressed my hair. I was surprised to hear his voice in my head.

_So dear, so soon.__  
_

I inhaled sharply. Dumah squeezed my shoulder, as though he knew that I'd heard his thoughts.

We arrived at the site of the tear, which happened to be an abandoned Victorian house that was supposed to be haunted, and which Ice and I had broken into numerous times throughout our childhoods. Ice decided to wait in the car, but I was curious about the Astrolabe.

"Where does the tear start?" Raziel asked.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out..." Rahab muttered. Rahab, Raziel and I started walking toward the house.

I peeked over Rahab's shoulder to get an idea of how the device worked. It looked like a Victorian pocket watch, but there was a map of the stars where the face of the watch would have been. There was a pinpoint of green light that Rahab told me was where the "tear" was. It got brighter when he walked closer to the house. It flared brightly for a minute when we stepped onto the porch. Rahab looked puzzled.

"That's interesting. I've never seen that before.." I watched as the point of light faded away. Rahab's face fell. "It's closed," Rahab said slowly.

"But the Astrolabe did something I've never seen it do before..."

"Who cares?" snapped Raziel. He knocked the Astrolabe out of Rahab's hand and it shattered against the porch stairs. "Useless thing."

"Look what you've done!" said Rahab. "How are we going to get home now?"

"We'll find a way," Raziel said, in a self-assured voice. Rahab shoved him off the porch.

Enraged, Raziel jumped to his feet and lunged at Rahab. Before I could react, Dumah had pulled me off of the porch. He held me against him.  
"Let them fight it out," he said. I sighed deeply and leaned against him. How was it that this man, who had betrayed me had become so dear to me? How was it that he had been so dear to me when I had been in Nosgoth? How was it that I was dear to him?

I thought again of that voice I'd heard.

_Always fated._

I didn't like the sound of that.

I looked back at the abandoned house, and I thought I saw someone standing on the porch.


	17. Interlude: Amara's Dream

**INTERLUDE: AMARA'S DREAM**

**A/N: I hope this isn't confusing, but just in case...Amara is having a dream. _Italics denote Amara's "real life". _(Also, wow, this chapter is one Moon Stick away from being Sailor Moon geez)**

* * *

_That night, after I had fallen asleep in Dumah's arms, I had a strange dream..._

In my dream, I was in a fantastic city that I'd never seen before. The architecture was elegant, spanning toward the sky, and the inhabitants of the city were unearthly, beautiful creatures with blue skin, cloven hands and feet, and elegant, black feathered wings. I knew, somehow, that I was one of these people. With a sense of purpose, I took to the sky and looked at the world below me. This was a verdant, green world, teeming with life. I had never seen such a beautiful place before.

I flew into a different city. I was going to meet someone, and I had been forbidden to go to this city. I knew I would be in trouble if anyone found out, but I felt _drawn _here.

The architecture here was somewhat different. While "my" city had elegant towers and balconies, this city sprawled horizontally. There were no hard angles anywhere in this city. All of the buildings were round.

A few of the blue people lived in this city, but there were others, too, with bone-colored skin and bone crests on their heads. These creatures had batlike wings. I noticed that the blue people went out of their way to avoid the others. Some of the blue people looked like they were packing up and leaving. The tension was so thick it could be cut with a knife.

There was one house in particular I was going to. I hurried inside, being careful not to be seen.

_What do I want here?_

I went into one of the back rooms, and found what, or rather, _who _I had been looking for. There was a man standing near a window. He had blue skin and wings, like some of the people who were leaving the city. _Like me._

When he turned to look at me I _knew_ he was Dumah, although how I recognized him as Dumah was anyone's guess.

"You shouldn't have come," he said.

"I had to."

"They say there's going to be a war." He looked sad and resigned.

"We'll go somewhere," I said. I took his hand in mine. "Anywhere. Janos--."

"Janos does everything by the book," "Dumah" interrupted. "He wouldn't help me abandon our people. Not when they need me. I'm a warrior and I have sworn to protect our people."

I embraced him. "I can't stand to live without you." I felt a lump in my throat and tears on my face...was I crying?

With all the care he would afford to his most precious possession, "Dumah" gently pulled away from me and cupped my face in his hands. "Shh."

He gently touched at my tears with his lips. "Whatever happens, I promise to meet you after the war."

"I promise to meet you, too."

__

The scene changed. I saw a terrible, brutal war, with the bodies of humans and winged beings alike littering the landscape. The rivers themselves were turned red from all the blood spilled.

I was flying, running some errands in a forest, and I felt a sharp pain throughout my entire body. The pain was unlike anything I'd ever felt before. I dropped from the sky but was able to glide long enough to stop myself from being seriously hurt.

_What was happening?_

_I felt a sudden, insatiable thirst come over me. It was unbearable, like being caught in a desert with no water in sight. When I tried to lick my lips I cut my tongue on fangs that hadn't been there before._

I crawled to a stream and tried to drink, but the water didn't sate me at all.

I screamed in agony and frustration.

_  
The scene changed again. I was in a tent, caring for the wounded members of my race. "Dumah" was among them._

"So is it true," said "Dumah", "That all of the women who were going to give birth miscarried?"

"Yes," I said sadly, "Not one has been spared. Some of the women died, too."

"Tragic." He sounded so weak. His wound was not serious, but I knew that as soon as he got better that he'd go back into battle. He might meet his end there. I knew that if I lost him, I would lose my whole world. I had to do something...something drastic.

"Do you remember," I said, "That promise we made?"

"To meet again?"

I nodded. "Let's...let's seal it. With our blood. So we'll always meet."

"Are you certain?" he asked, quietly. "We will be bound forever."

"I don't care!" I cried, "I just want to be with you!"

"I want to be with you too, but a blood pact...you must be dead certain."

"I am," I whispered. I leaned over and gently kissed his lips. "Are you?"

He nodded and bit his wrist. I did the same and we pressed our bleeding wrists together and whispered the words of our promise.

"We'll always meet again, for as long as the Wheel turns..."

_I opened my eyes and sat up with a start. I was in my bedroom, and Dumah was beside me. He wasn't blue and he seemed to be quite healthy. I looked at my hands and saw that they were their normal pale-peach color, and that I had five fingers. I ran my tongue along my teeth and was relieved by the absence of fangs. I looked at Dumah again and all the longing and desperate sorrow I had felt in the dream came back to me. I started sobbing into my hands._

__

Dumah stirred and slowly sat up. "What's wrong?" he asked. He gently drew me in close to him and stroked my hair until I had calmed down enough to speak.

"I had this dream," I said slowly, "We were some kind of blue people...and there was a war and you were hurt and..."

"Shh," he said. He gently kissed me. "I'm here. We're safe."

"It was so real....do you ever have dreams like that?"

"Vampires don't dream," Dumah said.

"Oh." I laid back down and looked at the ceiling. Dumah laid back down and wrapped his arms around me.

"You'll be all right," he said. He held me until I fell back asleep, and this time, I didn't dream at all.


	18. Chapter XV

**CHAPTER XV**

Autumn passed into winter and the snows melted into spring. Dumah and I grew closer and closer. He'd moved his things into my room and slept beside me every night. We knew better than to make plans for a life together, but we still enjoyed the time we spent.

"So what do you want to do?" I asked Dumah one night as we lay beside one another. "I mean...if you go home?"

"I want to be more powerful than Kain," he said proudly. "Someday, everyone will bow to _me._"

"I'm glad Kain isn't here to hear you say that," I murmured, snuggling up close to him. "I'd hate to lose you." I quickly bit my lip. The words had just slipped out. I was reminded of my strange dream. The feeling of hopeless desperation that I'd felt in the dream welled up in me.

"I'll become so strong Kain will surrender to me," Dumah said, as though he hadn't heard me. He squeezed my shoulder.

I was quiet. I only pressed myself closer to him.

"You're thinking of that dream again," he said.

"Yes."  
"Don't let it bother you." He gently touched his lips to mine.

I quickly rolled over on top of him and deepened the kiss.

"Mmm, so you think you're in charge, do you?" Dumah purred between kisses. He wrapped his arms around me and ran his hands down my back, sending little shivers of excitement up my spine.

I pressed myself against him. "Maybe I do..."

Dumah chuckled and began kissing my neck. He gently scraped his teeth along my neck, drawing blood. He began sucking at the wound, gently at first, then a little harder. I gasped with pleasure and surprise.

In one swift motion Dumah rolled me over so that he was on top of me.

"And now...on my terms," he whispered.

Afterward, I fell peacefully asleep beside him.

I was awakened by someone banging on the bedroom door. "Dude. You _need _to come watch the news!" Rupali sounded horrified. I'd never heard her sound so scared.

I slowly sat up, stretched, and slowly climbed out of bed. Dumah stirred beside me and slowly sat up.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Rupali wants us to watch the news," I said as I started dressing, "It sounds pretty serious."

Dumah watched me get dressed and chuckled. "I think she's just excited, that's all..."

"She sounded scared, Dumah."

Dumah furrowed his brow. "Well, that's not like Rupali, is it?" He climbed out of bed and got dressed himself. We hurried to the living room together and found Rupali, Ice, Rahab, and Raziel gathered around the television.

"He is to be considered armed and dangerous," the news anchor was saying. "Do not approach him. If you see him, get to a safe location and call the police right away."

"What's going on?" I asked Rupali. She shushed me.

"Just keep watching."

Ice changed the channel to CNN. "Maybe this'll have something new on it."

The news anchor on the screen was an older man with graying hair. "This is just in," he said, gravely. "The small town of Butte Falls, Montana, has become a bloodbath. Residents are reporting that in the early hours of the morning, an unknown man, who appears to be wearing elaborate special effects makeup, began murdering the citizens of Butte Falls."

We all exchanged concerned looks with one another.

"One resident of the town was able to capture some video footage of the man with his cellphone camera. We'll play the clip now."

The video clip wasn't the best quality. It showed the bus stop a lot of the miners waited at. There were bodies everywhere, and at the center...a man with greenish skin and white hair. The man was tall and quite muscular. He had a bone crest on his head, what looked like three claws instead of fingers, and cloven hooves for feet. He didn't seem to notice that he was being filmed. Then he looked directly at the camera, and the footage ended there.

Dumah, Rahab, and Raziel looked at each other in wide-eyed shock.

"Is that..." Raziel started.

"Kain?" Rahab said slowly.

"He's making a terrible mess," Dumah muttered.

"Why is he causing such a ruckus?" Ice asked.

"Because he _can_," Raziel said quietly.

"Or to get our attention," Rahab pointed out.

Ice turned the channel back to the local news.

"So far at least seventy people have been killed. There were approximately fifty deaths at the bus stop, and several deaths at and around the college, including that of the respected anthropology professor, Doctor Chandra Singh."

Rupali's jaw dropped. "He...he..." Her eyes were watering...and was that a _tear? _

"That disgusting sick fucking son of a bitch!" Rupali wailed. She lunged at the TV and Rahab restrained her.

"Shhh, Rupali."

"_HE FUCKING KILLED MY MOTHER AND YOU WANT ME TO FUCKING BE QUIET? TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF ME, YOU ASSHOLE!"_ Rupali tried to push Rahab away but he firmly held her. Rupali finally broke down and started crying against Rahab's chest. He loosened his grip on her.

"Get ahold of yourself," he said softly.

"I have ahold of myself," she sobbed. Her makeup was running. After a few minutes, she pushed Rahab away and stood up. "I...I gotta go see Daddy," she said slowly. She stood up and reached for her car keys.

"Are you sure you can drive? You're pretty upset." Ice asked.

"I'm...I'm fine," Rupali mumbled. She dropped the keys. "Just let me go."

"I'll go with you," I volunteered. "There's safety in numbers." I picked her keys up off of the ground and held them out to her.

"Maybe...you should drive," Rupali said slowly.

I nodded. "Okay."

We got into the car and drove over toward the house where Rupali's parents lived. Not a soul was on the streets and the only cars we passed were police cars.

"Who'd have thought ill shit like this would happen in fucking _Montana_?" Rupali sniffed. "I mean, Dad's told me some horror stories about Detroit but this makes all of that look like fucking Disneyworld or something."

I reached over and gently patted Rupali's hand. I scanned the road, looking for any and every sign of Kain. I decided if I saw him in the streeet I was going to run him over. When we were a block away from Rupali's father's house, I thought I saw someone coming toward the car out of the corner of my eye. I gasped and slammed on the brakes.

"Jesus, Amara!" Rupali glared at me and pushed her purple dreads out of her face. "Give me a goddamnhell'd heart attack, will you?"  
I looked all around the road. There was no one there.

"S-sorry." I took my foot off of the brake and we drove in silence the rest of the way.

The house itself was small and quaint, with flowerbeds in front of the house. The yard was surrounded by an old-fashioned wrought-iron fence. There were trees in the front yard. They were just beginning to bud.

Rupali jumped out of the car and ran inside. She didn't even close the door behind her. I walked in behind her and slowly closed the door. Rupali had already run upstairs, to what I assumed was her father's room. As I approached the stairs, I felt strangely unsettled. Something wasn't right.

"Rupali," I called, "Be careful!"

Almost as soon as I'd called her I heard a crash from upstairs. Without thinking, I ran up the stairs and found Rupali lying in a heap on the floor of what must have been her parents' room. I slowly walked into the room and knelt down beside her. I didn't see any blood. But who had attacked her? There didn't seem to be anyone else here.

"She's fine," said a smooth, male voice from the other side of the room. "She'll be awake in...oh, an hour or two." I looked up and my heart almost stopped.

Kain was standing mere _feet _from me, idly leaning against the wall.

"How...how did you..."

"The Veil between our worlds is quite thin today," Kain said plainly.

I stood up and glared at him. "How did you get here before Rupali and I did?"

"I passed you on the road," Kain purred. "I was going to attack your...strange machine, but when I saw that it was _you_, I decided to, ah....meet you instead."

"How did you know we would be here?" I growled.

"I simply read your thoughts." The corners of his mouth turned up ever so slightly. "And then used my abilities to...arrive here."

"You're lying! Your powers don't work here."

"As I said," Kain replied cooly, "The Veil is quite thin today. My abilities are working quite well."

"You didn't...hurt the man who lives here, did you?"

Kain shook his head. "There was no one here when I arrived."

"Are you lying to me?"

"Why should I lie to you, child?" Kain's voice took on a tone of amusement. "In what way would lying to you serve me?" He narrowed his eyes and walked toward me. "But enough of this banter. Take me to my sons."

I backed away from him. "N-no." The word was out before I'd had time to think.

Kain narrowed his eyes. "No? Perhaps you need some convincing." He unsheathed a strange sword with a wavy blade and a skull at the hilt and pressed it against Rupali's throat, just hard enough to draw blood.

"You will take me to my sons _now_, with no furher arguments, or she dies, and you _still _take me to my sons."

I swallowed. He'd killed enough innocent people. "O...okay. But...the police are looking for you. They're all out on the streets and they'll stop us if they see us." The very last thing I wanted was a felony aiding and abetting a fugitive charge on my record.

Kain laughed softly. "I do not know what these _police _are, but if they are human I can fool them easily enough." He casually waved his hand in front of his face and, for a moment, he glowed white.

When the light faded, Kain looked no different.

"How is that going to help you?" I said. "You look the same."

Kain's eyes widened and he turned to look in the vanity mirror behind him. I was curious, so I peeked over his shoulder and gasped.

The face in the mirror was of a human man with black hair and blue eyes who could not have been more than thirty. His black hair was swept away from his face.

Kain slowly turned to look at me. "So you can see through that particular magic."

"I believe I can," I said slowly.

"So you are beginning to awaken, then."

"What do you mean?" I asked. Kain only shook his head.

"That is not important now. I must see my sons at once. We must return to Nosgoth as soon as possible."

He grabbed my wrist and led me downstairs and out of the house.


	19. Chapter XVI

**CHAPTER XVI**

On the car ride back, Kain was mostly quiet. I had more questions than he did, but he never answered me. What was this awakening he was talking about and why was it important? How did he get here? Did he rip the Veil himself? Is that what made the Astrolabe react the way it had? Was it him that was standing on the porch of the abandoned house?

"We shouldn't have left Rupali. What if she has a concussion?"

"You said that her father lived there, did you not? He will find her." Kain leaned back in the seat. He oozed nonchalance. I wanted to hit him.

"What if he doesn't come home for a while? You killed his wife, you know."

"Oh, did I?" Kain said. "How unfortunate."

"How are you planning on getting back?" I asked, changing the subject before I lashed out. "To Nosgoth, I mean."

Kain said nothing.

I sighed and continued the drive in silence. Kain knew better than to speak to me. Or maybe he had nothing to say.

When I pulled into the driveway, Kain calmly climbed out of the car and walked into the house. I watched him walk to the front door, winced when he kicked it in, and then I climbed out of the car and followed him in.

Rahab and Raziel were standing up. Raziel had pushed Ice behind him in a protective gesture but when he saw that it was Kain who had burst through the door (when had Kain changed back?), he relaxed somewhat. Dumah was kneeling. My blood froze in my veins—he wasn't about to sell me out again, was he? I watched as Rahab, and, finally, Raziel dropped to their knees. My eyes met with Ice's. Her eyes were widened in alarm. Was this a trap? Surely Dumah and his brothers could not have known Kain was coming...could they have?

"Sire," Dumah said slowly. "We weren't expecting you."

I sighed. They hadn't known, then. This was a small comfort.

"We must return to Nosgoth at once," Kain said pointedly.

"How?" Rahab asked, rising to his feet. "The Veil--"

"That will be taken care of," Kain interrupted. He gestured toward Ice. "You. You'll drive."

Ice nodded. "O...okay."

"What about Amara?" Rahab asked.

"She stays."

Dumah's face fell. "Sire--"

"She stays," Kain repeated.

"Why?" I said before I could stop myself.

Kain slowly turned to me, regarding me with his gold eyes in the same way that he might have looked at a small child who'd asked him a foolish question.

"You belong here. For now," he said coolly.

"But..Dumah..." I finished weakly.

The corners of Kain's mouth briefly turned up. "Accompany us, then. Say your goodbyes. But you must stay on your side of the Veil."

He hadn't said anything about Ice. It dawned on me then, that perhaps Ice wasn't going to return to our little house. Ice seemed to have come to the same conclusion. She looked shocked.

"So will I be going to Nosgoth with you?" she asked

.  
Kain nodded. "Raziel would be happier, I think...and you would, too..."

Ice lowered her eyes. No one spoke.

"We are out of time," Kain said, breaking the silence. "Ice. Do you know of an abandoned house not far from here?"

Ice nodded.

It occurred to me that Kain was talking about that abandoned house Ice and I had played in as children. The house that had been over a tear in the Veil, if Rahab's Astrolabe was correct.

"Drive us there," Kain said, bringing me out of my thoughts. Then he looked at me. "You'd better pay attention if you want to come along," he said. Was that a trace of mirth in his voice? I nodded and walked out of the house.

I climbed into the back seat and huddled next to Dumah. It was a tight fit, with Raziel and Rahab joining us in the back, but I didn't complain. I was just happy to be close to Dumah. I studied his face carefully, committing every detail to memory. I took in his long, oval face, with his high cheekbones and straight, crooked nose. His eyes were set a little too far apart but it added to his charm. He gently caressed my face. I sighed and leaned against him as Ice backed out of the driveway and started toward the old house. We got maybe two blocks when we noticed that there was a blockade on that particular road. There were about three police cars and six policemen. Kain seemed visibly annoyed about having to stop, but he said nothing.

Two of the policemen motioned for Ice to stop, and she obeyed. "We don't want trouble," she said quietly to Kain.

Kain, however, had other ideas. He promptly climbed out of the car. Two of the policemen raised their guns. Without thinking, I climbed out of the car. "Kain, no--"

Before I could say anything else, Kain had killed the two policemen with guns. He flashed white for a second and I realized that he must have returned to his true form. The other policemen raised their guns and in an instant, Kain had pulled me to him. One clawed hand was against my throat. "I've a hostage," Kain said calmly. "Perhaps you wish to rethink your actions?"

They lowered their guns.

Kain slowly led me to the car and shoved me into the back seat, next to Raziel. "Hold her." Raziel nodded and held my wrists. "Forgive me," he whispered.

He climbed back into the car. "Now drive as fast as you can," he ordered Ice.

He didn't have to ask twice. Ice sped off in the direction of the old house. I looked behind us. "Uh, Kain...they're following us!"

Kain sighed. "They won't be a problem, soon enough."

_For you, _I thought, _but what about me...._

We arrived at the old house with the police coming very close behind us. Kain dragged me out of the car and held his claws against my throat while Dumah, Raziel, Ice, and Rahab ran into the house. Finally, Kain dragged me into the house. He kept his claws to my throat the whole time. When we got into the house he dragged a heavy bookcase in front of the front door. "Barricade the back door as well," he said.

Dumah and Rahab nodded and quickly dragged another heavy bookcase to the back door. "Now. Ice, come with me." He gestured to a room that was just down the hall. Ice moved to follow him, but turned back to me.

"Amara...tell my mom..."

"I will," I promised.

"Hurry, girl!" Kain called from the other room.

"I..bye!" Ice said quickly, before turning and almost running to the other room. Her voice was thick with emotion. I felt as though a part of my heart had been taken. Ice had practically been my sister, and now...she was going to a place where I'd never be able to see her. Was it because she was a vampire that she was able to go?

I could hear the police outside, trying to get in. I turned to Dumah.

"Dumah..."  
He gently pulled me to him and kissed me fiercely. "I can't lose you," he said.

"You have to," I whispered. Tears were welling up in my eyes. I swallowed.

Dumah gently cupped my face in his hands. He gazed intently into my eyes and I understood that he was committing my face to his memory. "I will always..." He lowered his eyes. "Well."

A loud thump made both of us jump. Dumah went to the front window and peered through. "Those policemen are trying to break down the door."

"They're going to get in," I said.

"Not for a while yet," Dumah replied. He pressed me close to him.

I started crying then.

"Shhh, stop that. I promise we'll meet each other again," Dumah said. At this, I was reminded of my dream and I cried even harder. He gently touched at my tears with his lips. "We'll meet again," he purred. He rocked me in his arms for a while, whispering promises and soothing words.

"Do you still have the necklace I gave you? When you were younger?"

I nodded. "Yeah...it's in my jewelry box."

"When I go back...will you wear it and think of me? I don't know if it will bring me back through the Veil, but maybe I'll know you're thinking of me..."

"I'll never take it off," I promised.

Another thud. I thought I heard wood splintering.

"Damn," Dumah growled, "They're persistent."

At that moment, Kain emerged from the room he had taken Ice to. "The Veil is open," he said, "Hurry."

Raziel and Rahab hurried into the room, but Dumah stayed.

"I'll always..." he breathed.

"Hurry, you fool!" Kain snarled.

Dumah pressed his lips against mine one last time. "Remember you," he finished. Then he pulled away from me and ran in the direction that Raziel and Rahab had gone. Kain followed.

I fell to my knees and buried my face in my hands. My body was wracked with sobs. I could hear the door finally being smashed and the sound of the bookcase being pushed away. I didn't care. I'd lost my dearest friend and the love of my life in the same instant. Nothing mattered to me at that moment.

Someone knelt beside me. "Hey, hey...are you okay, kiddo?" It was a male voice, rough but gentle.

I shook my head.

Someone else was calling for the house to be searched.

"Where are they?" the man kneeling beside me asked.

"G-gone."

"Where?"

I shook my head and shrugged. It was easier than explaining.

He gently pulled me to my feet. "Come on. You're safe now. We'll get you out of here."

As he led me out of the house, I turned to look at him. He was a middle-aged man with a bald head and a full, gray beard.

"I don't want my name to be published," I blurted. "I don't want anyone to know. I don't ever want to be reminded of today."

"I'll see what I can do," he said. "For now, we'll have some questions..."

I slowly followed him to his car and let him drive me downtown.


	20. Epilogue

**EPILOGUE**

The police questioned me relentlessly, because they could not believe that four people could vanish without a trace. When they were satisfied that I really didn't know where Kain and the others had gone and that I'd had nothing to do with Kain's killing spree, they let me go.  
I was released just in time to go to the funeral of Rupali's mother a few days later. I was shocked when I saw Rupali. She'd cut off her dreads, dyed her hair black, and taken out all of her piercings except for the ones in her nose and earlobes.  
"Mom always hated them," she said. "My hair and my piercings. The last time she saw me she asked if I was going to get rid of them. So...I thought maybe now I should." She grinned. "Well, except for the piercings I liked best, anyway." She smiled sadly. "So...where's Ice? And Dumah and the others?"  
"They...she..." I shook my head. "She's gone. They're all gone." I said finally.  
Rupali didn't ask about it again. I think she knew that they had gone back to Nosgoth.  
After the funeral, I drove home and rifled through my jewelry box until I found the necklace Dumah gave me. It was a teardrop-shaped amethyst pendant that was set in a silver disc. The pendant itself hung from a thin silver chain. I fastened it around my neck. The cool metal sent a chill down my spine. I held the pendant in my hands and thought of Dumah.  
_I'll always remember you. _

**FIN**


End file.
